Lazy Saturday
by RobertCop3
Summary: Multi-part fic inspired by JojoDO's "King of Fighters: Ultimate Grand Dream Kumite." While Heidern and company are off taking care of business, the rest of the cast has an entire day to rest and experience the beautiful city of Milan, Italy. What sorts of adventures will they get into? Well, let's find out...
1. Chapter 1

**Lazy Saturday**

by

RobertCop3

So, this is an idea I've had cooking for a while. It's inspired by JojoDO's excellent masterwork, "King of Fighters: Ultimate Grand Dream Kumite." So if you haven't read that first, go do it now. I'll wait...

… … …

You're back? Okay, so the idea came to me when I noticed that in between the Quarterfinals, which are on a Friday, and the Finals, which are on a Sunday, the fighters have an entire day to relax and go sightseeing in Milan while Heidern and his dirty half-dozen are off taking care of business. I pointed this out to Jojo, and told him how that seemed rife with possibility, and he replied by saying that he had no plans to do anything with that, but gave me his blessing to run with the idea. So that's what I'm doing now.

I've been jotting down notes on this thing for a few months, and I realized that I had enough material that I would need to split it into chapters. So I don't know how long it's ultimately going to be. I have plans for the Fatal Fury/Art of Fighting couples (though Terry is solo, since Blue Mary is in France), K and Kula, Kensou and Athena, B. Jenet, Chang, Vanessa, Whip and Leona, Geese and his circle of associates... and that's all I've got cooking for right now. If anyone has a story they want me to tell of an SNK character being touristy in Milan, leave a review or shoot a message and I'll see what I can come up with.

Well, I've rambled long enough. On to the meat of the thing. Hope you all enjoy!

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them or the video games.

* * *

**Saturday – Milan, Italy...**

After the insanity of the last five days, everyone needed a breather. A collection of fighters like no other had gathered here in Milan from all corners of the earth (and some of them from beyond it) to participate in the latest King of Fighters tournament. The fighting arts meant different things to each of them. For some, it was a hobby. For others, a religion. Some had entered this tournament simply as a way to hone their skills, or to just enjoy the thrill of competition, others had come seeking riches and glory.

But regardless of their reasons, the fight was their common language, and another thing they all had in common: it was not their first time competing. All of them were quite seasoned in that respect, and though some had been around longer, and had more clout to their name, all of them knew their business. But even the more seasoned ones had to admit that this tournament had been a little crazier than the ones before it.

Insanity seemed to walk hand-in-hand with King of Fighters. Though the tournament was always initiated in the spirit of wholesome competition, webs of plots, conspiracies, and sponsors with ulterior motives all seemed to have become trademarks. Chizuru Kagura had organized this Kumite with the best of intentions, but the old "KoF curse" had reared its ugly head yet again.

From the get-go, the Kumite had been plagued with clones of dead men and women from its past. Good people had nearly lost their lives at the hands of some of these clones, but the situation now seemed to be under control.

The spectators and fans had been told a cover story. The fighters all knew the real reason that there was a lapse between the Quarterfinals and the Finals. But still, even those who lived on the razor's edge were glad to be getting a reprieve, a day to just rest and relax after the stress of the week. And there was no argument that they had an excellent location to rest and relax in...

* * *

_Chapter One: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant_

In one corner of Milan, at a metal table outside of a ristorante overlooking a quaint, cobbled street, several familiar figures were sitting. They had spent most of their morning exploring the city, and were now enjoying some time off their feet, as well as a hearty lunch. The table's occupants were some of the most popular power couples of King of Fighters: Robert Garcia and Yuri Sakazaki, Andy Bogard and Mai Shiranui, Yuri's brother Ryo and King. Also at the table were Andy's brother Terry Bogard and his brother-in-arms, Joe Higashi, both of whom were also long time teammates.

Though lunch was winding down, the conversation was still lively. The morning had been productive, as evidenced by the few dozen shopping bags parked under the chairs. Part of their exploration had included a trip to the Grand Galleria, where Robert's platinum Mastercard had been put through its paces.

"What'd I tell you, Joe?" The Italian native said to the kick-boxer, who was tucking into a plate of cotoletta, served on a bed of polenta with a side of potatoes roasted in garlic and rosemary. "You don't need a reservation in some fancy place. _Every_ ristorante in this country is five-star. Any one of them, even the tiny family-owned ones you pass on the street, can whip you up a world-class meal."

A few others around the table laughed at that, remembering how bitter Joe was at missing out on the chance for dinner at Amore Sotto le Stelle when he was eliminated in Round Three. King took another sip of her wine and said, "Well, it would have been nice to try some of their wines, but this stuff... is incredible. Not what I was expecting from a mom-and-pop place. I've never drank anything like it. Any way I could get a few cases of this for my bar?"

Robert shook his head. "Probably not. Most of these smaller places get their house wine from Italian vineyards who make it exclusively for them. So in that respect, it's probably better than a bottle you'd have to pay a few hundred Euro for."

Joe gave a shrug, still bitter at his loss. "Well, it's not like you're hurting in that regard. So we _could _have had lunch at some place indoors."

Thankfully Joe had swallowed his food before talking. Because a moment later, he felt a sharp sting on the side of his face, as his vision exploded in a web of stars. When the world came into focus again, he saw Mai tucking her fan back down inside her spaghetti-strap tank top. "Show some manners, you ungrateful pig!" She scoffed at him. "Robert has done enough for us today."

"I'll say," Yuri seconded. "I actually feel kind of bad. I think we may have maxed out your card at the Galleria, Robbie."

Robert shrugged and then put his arm around her. "Don't worry about it, babe. It's a special occasion. You and I haven't been to Italy in a while. To be in a beautiful city with a beautiful lady... that's worth the extra expense." He leaned down and kissed Yuri on the cheek.

"Awww, thanks, baby!" Yuri kissed him back.

Ryo was about to say something, but to everyone else's surprise, Terry beat him to it. "Keep it behind closed doors, you two," the elder Bogard said with a scowl. He then took a slice of tomato off his plate and offered it to Blue Mary's dog, Anton, who was lazing at Terry's feet.

"Be nice, Terry!" Mai scolded him, as she reached across the table, grabbed his cap by the brim, and yanked it down in front of his face. "Robert's been showing us around the city all morning!"

"No use trying to talk to him," Joe remarked. "He's moody because his girlfriend ran off to play with a bunch of other guys."

"So?" Mai gave a shrug. "I'm used to Andy running off without telling me. But she'll come back. Andy always did in the end." She turned to her boyfriend, started rubbing her bosom up and down his arm. "You just couldn't keep away from all of _this_, could you, baby?"

Andy blushed profusely at that, and took a large sip of wine. He thought about reminding Mai that it was her idea to ask Terry to come with them to try and cheer him up, which had been an utter failure. Terry had barely spoken all morning, had shied away from group pictures, and hadn't bought anything at the Galleria except a new collar for Anton. Instead, however, Andy cleared his throat and said quickly: "So, anyway, what does everyone think of this tournament so far? It's been a crazy week."

"I'll say," said Ryo. "King beat Big, Geese beat Terry... I keep wondering if we're gonna see the Four Horsemen."

"I'm happy with my performance," Robert chimed in. "My opponent was fighting dirty in Round One, and still got their ass handed to them, along with his compadre. Then I refused to give Geese any satisfaction."

"You were so hot in that first fight," Yuri told him. "But I'm glad I didn't watch the second one. It was on TV in the hospital, but... I just didn't wanna see Geese pound on my man like that."

"For me and Andy, this has been a week of discovery," Mai said. "Right, Andy?"

"You are, of course, referring to the fact that you had the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with one of the great ninjutsu masters of history?" King asked her friend.

"No, actually, I was thinking about what Andy and I did the night before Round Two," said Mai. "But it _was _also an honor to face one of the great masters of the art. I wish I could fight him again someday. I made the mistake of underestimating him. I wouldn't do that again."

For a moment, Andy blushed, wishing that Mai could keep quiet about the things they did in private. Then he said: "I just wish I could have gotten the chance to teach him a lesson. But I got the short straw in the second round."

"You and me both," said King. "I mean, seriously, K'Dash... how was Geese even deciding these fights?"

"Hey, man, at least Beni got that short straw in Round Three," Joe told Andy, referring of course to the enigmatic Dio. "I bet that was fun to watch."

"Okay, yeah, that was kind of fun," Andy conceded, and twirled some spaghetti onto his fork.

"But not as much fun as watching Yamazaki get fried," Robert said.

"I'll drink to that," Ryo said, raising his glass.

"Speaking of which, while I wish I'd made it farther than Round Two," Yuri remarked to the rest of the table. "It is nice to be able to just relax today, and not be stressed out about the Finals."

Robert nodded as he ran a piece of crusty bread through the olive oil drizzled on his plate. "I'd hate to be Ash Crimson right now."

"I don't think I'd EVER like to be Ash," Ryo chimed in.

"I second that," said Andy.

"Touche," Robert agreed with the other two.

"Speak for yourselves," Joe addressed everyone else around a mouthful of veal. "Some of us were destined for greatness."

"If that's the case," Mai told him, "then why are you sitting here stuffing your face instead of resting for the Finals?"

"Because obviously, the universe won't admit that I have a destiny. Duh!" Joe rolled his eyes and then resumed eating.

"Whatever." Mai rolled her eyes back at him, then turned back to her own plate, picking at the fried flounder still left on it.

King filled her wineglass using the carafe in the center of the table, then sat back in her chair swirling the rich crimson liquid. "I still regret nothing. This entire week has been pure magic."

"I'll say," said Yuri, remembering what her longtime friend had told her about post-Round Two events. "Are you SURE that wasn't a clone of Mr. Big that visited your hospital room?"

"I was there, too," Ryo chimed in. "He was the real deal."

Yuri shook her head and forked the last bits of minestrone bolognese on her plate. "That's crazy. But I'd still love a chance to someday open a can of whoop-ass on Big."

"Knock yourself out," King said with a shrug.

"Which is what might actually happen if you faced him," Ryo said with a laugh.

"What's THAT supposed to mean? I could totally take him now! Right, Robbie?"

For a moment, Garcia hesitated. "Well, babe... whether you win or lose isn't important, but it's how you play..."

"Ah, save it!" Yuri elbowed her boyfriend in the side.

"Well, I'm just glad we all made it past the first round," Mai said, trying to change the subject before things got too violent. "Can you imagine how embarrassing THAT would have been, to drop out in the same round as that pro wrestler guy?"

Joe nodded. "Yeah, what was he even doing here?"

"Aside from getting wrecked by Kim?" Ryo added. Everyone laughed at that, except for Terry, who simply stared off into the distance.

"Well, we couldn't have asked him what he was doing here," said Andy. "He didn't hang around after his loss."

"You know, now that I think about it," said Yuri. "We had a bunch of first-timers at this tournament, and NONE of them were very social."

Joe thought for a moment as he picked at his plate. Then he slowly nodded. "Yup. The wrestler, the crazy tribal guy, the T-1000 knock-off, the Bruce Lee wannabe, ninja boy, the pirate dude... they all disappeared after being eliminated."

"Good riddance to some of them," Andy grumbled.

Next to him, Mai rolled her eyes. "Oh, Andy, are you STILL angry about what happened to me? Just drop it, will you? You and I are both fighters, and this isn't our first tournament. I knew the risks when I signed up, same as you."

Andy let out a sigh. "Oh, okay, Mai. Sorry."

Mai giggled and rubbed Andy's chest. "It's okay, baby. Sometimes you're cute when you get protective. But only sometimes."

"Well, actually a few of them were _very _social," King corrected Yuri. "Mary and I shared a hospital room after Round Two, and she mentioned that Jenet got her deck swabbed by the captain after the first round was over."

At the mention of Mary, Terry pulled his cap down closer around his face and focused on his beer. Mai giggled a bit and swirled the wine in her glass. "Well, good for her."

"Um... you're not even friends with her, Mai," Andy reminded her. "So why do you..."

The kunoichi gave a small shrug. "Doesn't matter. It's always nice to see other women having casual sex. Makes the world a better place."

Before Mai could continue to make everyone uncomfortable, however, Ryo chimed in: "Man, that was quite a meal. Does anyone else feel sleepy?"

Robert nodded. "That's how you know it's a real Italian lunch: you need to take a nap when you're done."

"I'll say," Yuri stifled a yawn. "I still can't pronounce what I ate, but it's lapsing me into a food coma."

Robert reached into the pocket of his slacks for his wallet. "Well, then, how about we go back to our room for a siesta?"

"Way to speak my language, Robbie," Yuri said with a giggle.

Mai turned to face her own man. "Come on, Andy. Let's settle the bill and then go back to _our _room. You can watch me try on one of the negligees I bought." She then dropped her voice to a sultry whisper. "And help me take it off!"

Andy blushed a little, but at the same time, he was also eager for that activity. So he put his fork down on his empty plate and motioned to a waiter for checks.

"So... how are you feeling?" Ryo asked King.

"Still not up for... that," King said, noticing the look in his eyes.

"Oh." Ryo gave a small shrug. "Well, maybe when we get back to the room I could..." he leaned in to King's ear, his voice becoming a whisper, and unlike Mai's whisper, it was low enough so none could hear.

When Ryo was finished speaking, King raised an eyebrow. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Sure," Ryo answered. "I like doing that."

King turned to address the rest of the table with her hand on Ryo's arm. "This is a _real _man, folks. Where are our checks?"

After the couples had paid and gathered their respective bags (though the women made the men carry most of them), they started off down the street back towards the hotel. Joe paid his check a few minutes later, and then turned to Terry, who still looked moody. "Hey, man, I'm gonna go find some dessert. Wanna come?"

Terry shook his head without looking up. "Nah, I just wanna sit here a little longer." He then took another sip of his beer. "I'm still eating."

"Suit yourself, amigo," Joe said, then gave Terry a pat on the back and got up from his chair. "My cell is on when you're ready to rejoin the real world." With that, he started off in the opposite direction everyone else had gone in, leaving Terry with the dog...

* * *

ADDITIONAL NOTES

So, I've already written more to this restaurant setting. I thought about posting it here. But instead, I'm gonna post it as a separate chapter, to keep this one from getting too long.

And like I said above, I'm open to suggestions about what sorts of things to write, because I only have so many ideas, and this is such a HUGE cast of characters, I obviously can't use them all.

And you may have noticed that the characters are all casually referencing things that took place in Jojo's Kumite fic. That will be happening a lot, so if you ignored me and didn't read that fic first, oh well!

I hope to have another chapter up by the end of the month. Without going into too much detail, let's just say a certain pirate may not have learned her lesson...

Thanks again for reading! As always, feedback is welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

So, as I start this one off, I just wanted to say that during the course of this fic, you'll hear me mention a lot of locations. In the last chapter, I made reference to the Grand Galleria, which is an actual shopping mall in Milan. Every place I reference in these fics is a real place within that city.

And with that, let's start the next chapter.

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them or the video games.

* * *

_Chapter Two – A Pirate's Life_

**The Santa Maria Delle Grazie**

_I actually paid for a ticket for this?_ Bonne Jenet thought to herself as she stood inside the refectory of the convent, which was famous for housing the painting she now stared at. _What was I thinking?_

In truth, she probably hadn't been thinking. The self-proclaimed pirate queen was both bored and horny. Sometimes a good combination, depending on where you found yourself. But when you were in a church, perhaps there were better things to be. Still, after spending most of the morning in her hotel room with a vibrator, eventually the corsair in her blood grew too restless with the desire to wander and explore.

For some reason, after walking the streets of the city for an hour, she'd found herself outside the Santa Maria Delle Grazie, and actually bought a ticket to view Leonardo Da Vinci's "Last Supper," regarded by many as one of the seminal masterworks of the European Renaissance, right up there with Michelangelo's "David" or Botticelli's "Birth of Venus."

Now, as she stood in front of it, Jenet wondered what the big screaming deal was. It was just a bunch of men in robes sitting at a table. Of course, Jenet had never been an art buff. Also, she found it hard to care at the moment, because she was too preoccupied. With thoughts of _him. _

In Round One of the tournament, she'd gone up against, and been defeated by a man who called himself Captain Kidd. Someone who claimed to be the legendary pirate captain of the same name. Jenet had gotten to know him a little bit better (no, a _lot _better) after that match, and when he'd dropped out in the start of Round Two, he'd entrusted the leader of the Lillien Knights with carrying on the legacy of their trade.

_It's a pity he hauled anchor right after losing, _she thought sadly. _Would have been nice to have one last shag before he left. _Jenet then touched a hand to the blue captain's cap nestled atop her long, golden hair, painted with a skull and bones similar to the design on her skirt. The cap had been a gift from Kidd, a symbol of his trust, of his faith in the younger woman to do everything she could to uphold the pirate code.

_Take what you can, give nothing back. _Jenet smiled as she took a sip of rum from her metal flask (another parting gift from the captain), then capped it and tucked it back into the garter wrapped around her left thigh. The others in the room scowled at the blond corsair, not only because Jenet was drinking in a convent, but also because of her style of clothing, which bordered on sacrilege: a strapless purple dress that provided a healthy view of her ample bosom, with a slit up the left side of the skirt running almost to her waist, leaving little to the imagination.

Jenet took their disdain with a grain of salt. She'd never cared for religion, preferring idols made of gold, because those could actually be seen with the eye, and then plundered. Besides, if a higher deity _did _exist, the fact that Jenet was standing right now in this holy sanctuary and hadn't been struck down proved that he or she just didn't give a shit.

Of course, her outfit had the added bonus of making everyone else in the convent want to give her plenty of space. Jenet took another sip from the flask (causing more than a few of the other patrons to leave the room in disgust), and eyed the painting again. _Maybe I'm just looking at it wrong. It doesn't look like much now, but it might look better hanging over the captain's table in the main mess of my ship. _She was still thinking about her failure from earlier in the week.

The night after Round Two had ended, Jenet had assembled a crew with the intention of stealing both the trophy and the prize money for the tournament, thereby upholding the very legacy that Kidd had entrusted her with. Sadly, that hadn't gone according to plan. Her incompetant cohorts, Malin and Sinclair, had folded like a poorly-rigged mainsail under pressure, causing the heist to be thwarted by Chizuru.

Even though Jenet had promised not to make any more trouble at the tournament, she hadn't abandoned the idea of finding some way to make the captain proud. But she was hesitant to ask anyone else at the tournament for assistance. And when she'd come to port on Monday, she'd ordered the Knights to return in one week to pick her up. Now, she had no way of reaching them (none of them had cell phones, as it was usually impossible to get a signal at sea), meaning she was stuck without faithful, able-bodied men she could trust with her life.

She scowled as she glanced around the refectory, trying to figure out what security measures were in place here, and the best way to bypass them. Sadly, a captain was only as good as her crew. Jenet had a gift for planning, but usually she relied upon intel gathered by her men. A few of her Knights had worked for security firms in their landlocked life. If she had them with her now, she'd know what she was up against, and come up with a plan to sneak around it and plunder the painting.

"I wish my crew were here," Jenet said out loud. "This would be a lot easier with the Knights backing me up."

"What would be easier, Jennie?"

The blond woman turned, and saw Chizuru Kagura striding towards her, the footfalls of her heels on the hard floor echoing through the room's natural acoustics. Jenet scowled at the sight of the older woman, still bitter over her foiled heist. "That's not my name. It's pronounced _juh-nay _now."

The black-haired priestess shrugged, hands resting casually in the pockets of her white jacket. "That's who you are. Not who you were. And it doesn't answer my question. What would be easier if you had your crew with you?"

Jenet decided to ignore how Chizuru could know anything about her past, and instead answered: "What business is that of yours?"

"It's my business because whatever you're talking about, I'm sure it involves making trouble for the people of this city. Which you promised me you wouldn't do."

Jenet couldn't help but flash a triumphant grin at Chizuru. "Ah-ha! No I didn't! I promised not to cause any more trouble at the tournament. We're not at the tournament now, are we?"

The older woman gave a small shrug. "Potato, puh-tah-to. The people of Milan were gracious enough to host us for the week, putting hotels, medical facilities, and city officials at our disposal." She nodded in the direction of The Last Supper, secure behind the velvet ropes. "You weren't thinking of insulting that hospitality by stealing this beautiful painting, were you?"

"No," Jenet said a little too quickly. Chizuru folded her arms across her breast and eyed the younger woman critically. After a brief staring contest, Jenet gave a loud, dramatic sigh. "Okay, yes. But I wasn't going to steal it. I was going to plunder it. But so what? It's in my blood! It's what I do, goddamn it!"

Chizuru's gaze became a bit harder, then. "Watch your language, Jennie. Don't blaspheme in this holy place."

The blond woman laughed a little. "Why do you care? I'm pretty sure you're not Catholic."

"Doesn't matter. We're guests in their god's house, so we're going to be respectful. Speaking of which, please remove your hat."

Jenet raised her eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

"Always."

Jenet stared incredulously for another moment. But finally she removed the blue captain's cap and tucked it into her belt. "There. Happy?"

"Not really. Not until I'm satisfied that you won't make any trouble for the sisters of this order. Or for anyone else in Milan, for that matter."

Chizuru's persistence was filling the pirate queen with the urge to shout more blasphemy. After taking a moment to compose herself internally, a thought struck her. "Wait... how did you know where I was? Is this you I'm even speaking to? Or are you using that mirror-thingy?"

Chizuru shrugged. "Don't think it matters. What does matter is that I'm onto you. But... if you want to take that painting, go ahead. Like I said last time, I won't be the one stopping you."

Jenet laughed at her. "Then I've won. You can't sic Geese Howard on me. I saw what that freakjob did to him yesterday, so I know that he's in no condition to fight!"

Chizuru stepped past her, then, closer to the ropes, hands once more in her pockets while she fixed her gaze on the painting. "You're right. But there's other people I can call. My old friends on the Women's Team would be happy to help me. King's still a little too banged up, so I won't ask her. But Yuri, Xiangfei, Mai and Kasumi have all recovered from their injuries. And I've got all their numbers saved on my phone."

"I'm not afraid of those twats," Jenet scoffed, trying her best to bluff.

Chizuru kept her gaze on the painting as she spoke. "Well, I'm not gonna call them, anyway. They're all out enjoying their day off, experiencing this beautiful city. But you know who's not doing that? Iori. I could always give him a call."

Jenet suddenly felt her stomach turn into ice, her bravado from a moment ago falling apart. "Um..." she opened her mouth, but found no words coming out.

Chizuru then turned her head slightly towards the younger woman, one half of her face still unreadable. But the half that Jenet _could_ see... suddenly looked extremely calculating. "But I have to warn you, Jennie. He is in a _VERY_ bad mood. Well, worse than normal for him. He'll help me if I ask him, but he's not gonna like it. And he's probably gonna want to let out that frustration. And, well, I can't be held responsible for what he might do..."

The dreadful feeling of ice spread out from Jenet's stomach, snaking down through her bowels. "You wouldn't... not here..."

"You're right, Jennie. Not here. I would never let Iori desecrate holy ground." The priestess turned back towards Jenet, hands still in her pockets, the expression in her dark brown eyes the very epitome of a poker face. "I would wait until you were outside before I called him."

"You're bluffing."

"Try me. If you're so sure I'm bluffing, duck under the ropes and swipe that painting."

They stared each other down, Jenet glaring at Chizuru's hard expression, trying to make her own expression equally hard. Finally the pirate queen rolled her eyes in disgust and gave a very loud groan, catching the ears of several of the tourists. "Okay, you win!"

Instantly, Chizuru's expression softened. "Thanks for your cooperation. Enjoy the rest of your day. It's a beautiful city we're in. Take some time to relax and experience what it has to offer, just... not illegally." With that, the priestess turned and exited the refectory.

After Chizuru was gone, Jenet didn't feel like sticking around, either. "It's getting so much harder for a girl to make a dishonest living," she grumbled as she stomped out of the dining hall. Once she was back outside, she let her eyes get accustomed to the sun, then she glanced around the cobbled piazza, and saw the familiar, impressive figure of Chang Koehan sitting on a bench, studying a map of the city.

He wasn't much to look at. In fact, Jenet would have to imbibe a _lot _of rum before she'd ever consider getting in bed with him. But she knew of his felonious past. After taking a few moments to compose herself, the pirate queen sauntered towards his bench, making sure to sway the curve of her hips from side to side.

Chang was so buried in the map, he didn't see Jenet striding towards him until she was right on top of him. "Hello, love," the blond woman said with a nod of her head, letting a bit of her old accent come through. "What'cha doin'?"

"Trying to find some culture on this blasted map," Chang grumbled without really looking up.

"Culture's overrated," Jenet said, tossing her long blond hair. "Let's talk about other things. Like the tournament. I thought it was pretty cool how you cheated in the first round. You were fighting dirty. That's admirable."

Chang gave a shrug. "Master Kim didn't seem to think so."

"Yeah, well, you know who else thought it was admirable? Geese Howard himself. _The _epitome of the crime lord. I mean, if he didn't think that, he'd have let goody-two-shoes disqualify you. But he didn't. He let the match continue. So you impressed Geese Howard. That's something to be proud of."

Another shrug from Chang's enormous shoulders. "Didn't do much good. Garcia beat us both. Now as punishment, our master is making us find something 'cultured' to do in Milan. Says we need to educate our minds."

"I see." Jenet pulled her flask out from her thigh garter, took a sip, and offered it to the larger man. "Rum?"

Chang shook his head. "I'm not into that. I prefer beer. The darker, the better."

"Suit yourself." Jenet tucked the flask away again. "So... where is your associate? Choi, is it?"

"He _found_ something to do," Chang answered with a sigh. "He's checking out the natural history museum. He likes dinosaur bones. Not really my thing."

Jenet gave a small nod. Fossils might be an interesting and profitable haul, but security at the museum would be tighter than it was here, and she had the threat of Iori looming over her. But... Chang _was_ large enough to be a good decoy. She pondered for a moment, then asked: "So... what was your specialty back in your criminal days? Do you know anything about art? Or theft?"

Chang shook his head. "Nah. I just know how to hit people hard, and smash things. That was a useful skill in the criminal underworld of South Korea. So, needless to say, I'm not good at doing precision work with my hands."

Jenet pondered for just another moment. Chizuru was no one's fool. Even if Jenet used Chang as a decoy, the priestess would likely see through that ruse, and send Iori after the real target. Besides, she was still reluctant to trust another fighter with something like this, even a fellow rogue such as herself. In the end, she shrugged. "Okay, nevermind, then. Well, see ya 'round." With that, she turned and left the piazza.

As she walked, she took the cap out of her belt and paused to look at it before placing it back on her head. So she had to play nice here. So what? Once she was back out at sea with her ship and crew, anything would be fair game again. And then she would plan a spectacular score, worthy of the legendary (and quite virile) Captain Kidd. Bonne Jenet smiled as she allowed herself to briefly remember the night after Round One, then she started walking towards the nearest bar. True, she was under-age, but so were other fighters like Whip and Yuri, and as far as the blond woman knew, no one had carded them, either.

_Someday, captain. Someday I'll do you proud..._

* * *

ADDITIONAL NOTES

And there's another one in the bag. It might be a few weeks before the next update while I figure out what I'm doing. Right now, I'm leaning towards a parallel story involving K'/Kula and Athena/Kensou. But as I neared the end of this chapter, I got an idea to do more with Chang. Maybe he finds a museum he actually likes. So we'll see.

Hope you're enjoying so far. Until next time...


	3. Chapter 3

So, this chapter took me a while because I'm not used to writing NESTS or the Psycho Soldiers. That's one of the reasons I wrote the Fatal Fury/AoF couples in Chapter One. I'm most familiar with them, and wanted to get them out of the way, so I could spend the rest of the fic flexing my writing muscle. And I'm pleased with what I came up with here. Hope you enjoy it!

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them or the video games

* * *

_Chapter Three: The Suspension Bridge Effect_

**The Naviglio Grande**

"K', you gotta try this! It's the most yummy thing in the world!"

K'Dash didn't turn his head towards the voice, instead he stood by the metal railing on the banks of the centuries-old aqueduct that ran through Milan, hands in his jacket pockets as he watched the waters below swirl slowly past. Diana, who had been pulling out small nuggets of knowledge from a travel guide she'd bought shortly after their plane landed, said that this was the largest of a series of canals which were dug back during the fifteenth century, and incredibly, these man-made ducts still functioned. At least, K's companions thought that fact was incredible. K' could care less about history at the moment, having something more important to occupy his thoughts. Though even without distractions, he probably still wouldn't care about history.

_The only history that matters to me right now is my own..._

"Come on, K'!" The girl standing to his right persisted. "It's so sweet and yummy! I don't know how I lived without it before!"

K' turned his head slightly, looking through his sunglasses at the young girl with the long, strawberry-blond hair, who was dressed in jeans and a Doraemon T-Shirt. Kula Diamond smiled broadly at him, holding a waffle-cone in each hand, one of which was half-eaten. Both were filled to the brim with sweet, creamy, frozen goodness.

"It's ice cream," K' said with a scowl. "You eat it all the time. How have you _not _lived without it?"

Kula shook her head. "It's sooooo much better than ice cream. This is called 'gelato.' It's like ice cream, but more scrumptious! Why don't we have this in Japan? I wanna eat this every day for the rest of my life! Here, try it!" She extended the hand with the uneaten cone out to him.

"I'm not hungry," K' said flatly, and turned his gaze back to the water.

"But I bought this one for you!" She said, now waving the cone under his chin, which was beginning to drip in the sun.

"Why? You know I hate sweets!"

"Because it's the most delicious, yummy thing ever in the world, and I wanted to share it with you, and will you please just try it, PLEASE?"

K' turned his head again, saw Kula fixing him with what was probably the most pathetic puppy-dog-eyed stare he'd ever seen, and he'd seen quite a few from her. But for some reason, the smile on her face compelled him to listen. So he reached out with his tongue and licked the frozen concoction she continued to wave in front of his face. The flavor was Dulce de Leche, and K' hated it instantly, but again, for reasons unknown to him, he found himself forced to swallow.

"It's... too sweet," he repeated.

"Okay, be that way," Kula said with a shrug. "I'll eat it for you!" With that, the cheerful girl began to eagerly double-fist gelatos, first licking one, than the other, back and forth to stop them from running onto her hands.

K' continued to fix his gaze on the water, almost as if he was expecting K9999 to pop out of it. In his mind, he kept replaying the encounter from the other night, after the dinner that Chizuru had practically Shanghai'd him into going to. It was one of the reasons he couldn't lose tomorrow, but that just made the pressure to succeed even greater. To have the chance to put both of his most-hated rivals in their proper place, and also to step out of Kyo Kusanagi's shadow once and for all... to K', that was worth more than the material prizes being offered.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, K'?"

K' turned his head again, his dark eyes unreadable beneath the polarized lenses of his trademark shades. Kula had finished both the gelatos, and was wiping the last few traces of melted cream from her hands with the flimsy napkin provided by the vendor.

"Did you really just finish both of those?" He asked her. "You were already hopped up on sugar. Now you're gonna crash, and since everyone else is off sight-seeing, I'll have to carry you back to the hotel!"

"It's okay, I trust you!" Kula responded. "You're not Candy, but... I feel safe around you. Now... can you tell me what you're thinkin' about?"

Those deep magenta eyes of hers had a serious air about them that K' was not used to seeing in her. There was none of the usual childlike wonder that normally filled them. So he actually decided to answer her: "I'm thinking of the Finals tomorrow. This is my big chance!"

Kula cocked her head to one side. "For what?"

"To finally show up Kyo!" K' told her. "To prove that I'm not some stupid fucking lab rat, forever in his shadow!"

"K', don't swear!" Kula said with a slight cringe on her face.

K' ignored her, and went on: "But more than that, if I win, I get the chance to have another match with the only other person I hate more than Kyo."

Kula looked confused, then. She could be a bit naive at times, but she'd known K' long enough to know who he was talking about. "K9999? I heard Maxima and Seirah say he's been missing for a long time. Some people... think he might be dead."

"He's not dead," K' told her. "He's here in Milan. I ran into him the other night. After I... um, beat one of those stupid clones myself. Without his help." He was fibbing just a little there, but Kula didn't know all the details about his encounter with Krizalid's duplicate. He'd only told Maxima and his sister about that.

Kula still looked confused. "But... aren't you _his _rival?"

"Yes, and for whatever reason he hates me, if I win the tournament, he said he'll let me go up against him. Then I can show him once and for all that his number means jack shit!"

"Bad language, K'!" Kula looked like she was on the verge of shedding a tear. Her lip was quivering, and those wide magenta irises looked like they were shimmering a little in the sun. "It's such a nice, sunny day out! Can't we just have fun?"

K's own eyes were unreadable beneath his sunglasses, but he cast a quick glance up and down the banks of the Naviglio, and when he was satisfied that no one else was watching, he reached out and put a hand on Kula's shoulder. Just for a split second, long enough to mutter a quick, gruff apology under his breath, and then he withdrew his hand and looked down at the canal again.

For a long moment, there was silence between them. K' mostly stared at the water, but every now and then, he looked around, hoping for a glimpse of Diana, Foxy, or Maxima. That would mean they were done poking around the quaint shops along the canal, and one of them could deal with Kula.

Finally, the girl next to him spoke again: "You know, K', you don't ever have to prove yourself to _me_."

K' said nothing, though one eyebrow was quirked. Thankfully, his shades were on so no one could see.

"I mean, you've already won the King of Fighters tournament before," Kula went on. "That was pretty awesome. And you turned against Krizalid and left NESTS after you found out you were being used, so deep down inside I know you're a good person. You don't need to prove anything. But... if you have to beat up Kyo and K9999 to make yourself happy... I'll still cheer for you tomorrow."

K' continued to stare down at the water, almost as if he were trying to boil it with his gaze. Then he simply said: "Okay. Thanks."

Kula leaned in, then, rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm glad we're here, K'," she said.

K' found himself secretly hoping another clone would attack them. Even though none did, he still found himself unable to flinch away from the girl at his side, which startled him. He put an arm around her, rested his hand on Kula's shoulder for a split second. "Thanks," he said, then pulled the arm away.

Kula continued to rest against him, to the point where it was starting to make him visibly uncomfortable. He started to say something when he heard the girl give off a small snore.

_Damn it, she crashed from all the sugar! _He thought to himself. _Just like I knew she would!_ And sadly, no one else was around. For a moment, he wondered where the hell her pet robot was, then he remembered Candy was recharging her solar cells on the roof of the hotel. With an audible sigh, K' scooped Kula up in his arms, and started off in that direction.

"Look at you, Mr. White Knight!" A voice shouted from behind K'. He turned his head and saw Maxima standing nearby, eating a skewer of some sort of grilled meat (smelling strongly of sage and rosemary) wrapped in prosciutto. K's longtime partner flashed him a thumbs-up.

"Call me that again, and I'll break my foot off in your ass, old man!" K' shouted over his shoulder.

"I'm not even thirty!" Maxima retorted.

"But you're close enough!" K' shouted back.

Maxima chuckled a bit. "Well, listen, White Knight: Diana told me to pass along that she, Foxy, and I are gonna check out the terraces of the Milan Duomo. You're welcome to join us, after you drop Kula off. Candy's cells should be charged by now, so she can take over for you."

K' shook his head. "Why would I wanna join you for that? This city is probably just as boring from a higher view as it is from the ground. Nah, I'm staying in the room. Gotta rest for tomorrow."

Maxima shrugged. "Suit yourself. Have fun!"

K' scowled again, and then kept walking. But despite everything weighing on him, when he glanced down at the tired girl he was carrying, he couldn't help but lift one corner of his mouth in a vain attempt to smile...

* * *

_Elsewhere along the Naviglio Grande..._

On the outside, the restaurant on the waterfront looked much like every other restaurant on the canals, quaint and picturesque. Inside, however, the tension was thick enough to be cut through with a knife. In the middle of a large ring of spectators (as many as would fit in this quaint space on the banks of the canal), the two contestants stared each other down. They were both masters, each of them champions in this sort of contest. They were tensed, ready, waiting for the signal to begin combat. One was dressed in a red cheongsam and white slacks with extremely wide cuffs at the ankles, her brown hair done up in a pair of ropy braids on the sides of her head. Her opponent was dressed in blue shorts, with a white hoodie and a blue vest on over that.

Li Xiangfei and Sie Kensou sat at opposite ends of the table, and between them rested several fresh, steaming plates of spaghetti bolognese, the food they'd both agreed upon at the start of this bet. Other plates were waiting in the kitchen, should they be needed. Off to the side, Bao stood with a stopwatch in hand.

Though the gazes of the two combatants remained locked on each other, they were still aware of their surroundings. As trained fighters, they could do no less. Both could see and hear the bets being passed between the other restaurant patrons. Many of those gathered were in Milan for the tournament, and had somehow learned through the grapevine that this contest was taking place today. The restaurant's owner was allowing it because Athena Asamiya's manager had heard about what was happening, and after talking to Chizuru, had arranged to not only compensate the restaurant with a large promotion fee, but to pay double for every plate of pasta that was consumed by Kensou and Xiangfei. Not to mention that news of the contest had brought in a _lot _of business for them at the moment. Just about every person watching had ordered either a drink or something to eat for themselves.

After letting enough time pass for tension to build, Bao, who had been deemed the official timekeeper, cleared his throat. "Okay, we all agreed on the rules. Whoever eats the most plates of spaghetti in five minutes wins. If you throw up or fall out of your chair, you're disqualified. You have to clean a plate before moving onto the next. A plate is considered clean when all the pasta on it is gone. Meat and sauce... doesn't matter."

Xiangfei shrugged. "This is cake. Which I'll eat a slice of after I win!"

Kensou shook his head. "I have love on my side. You're going down!" His brown eyes flicked briefly over to Athena, who was standing out past the crowds. She flashed Sie a weak smile, but for some reason, the J-pop idol appeared distracted.

Sie didn't have time to wonder why, however, because Bao raised the stopwatch over his head, and pressed the button. "GO!"

With that, both contestants were off. The money stopped passing, and the crowd began to cheer for whoever they had bet on. Both Kensou and Xiangfei were not paying attention to any of this, however, focusing solely on the food in front of them.

Kensou grabbed the plate of spaghetti closest to him and began to shovel it in his mouth with his bare hands. His eyes flicked briefly upwards, and he noticed that his opponent was quickly twirling her food around the tines of a fork, until she had a large ball of it resting on a spoon. Xiangfei lifted it to her mouth, and in seconds, the pasta had disappeared down her throat.

"Silverware? Really?" Kensou taunted the kung-fu expert with his mouth full. But as he did, a few strands of spaghetti slipped from his mouth back onto the plate. He shook his head and quickly resumed eating, but it soon became clear that Xiangfei might have the better strategy. Several strings of pasta slipped through his fingers every time he raised his hands to his mouth, and as the plate grew more empty, it became harder to grab those errant pieces.

As Kensou tried to pick up what was left on his plate, he raised his head again, saw the restaurant's owner nodding to the crowd, having just finished a hasty inspection of Xiangfei's plate and deeming it clean. She took the empty plate and set it down on the counter behind a name tag with Li's name on it. The owner had barely left the table before Xiangfei picked up a second plate, and started on that, once more twirling the pasta into a huge ball.

"Yes, really," Xiangfei said calmly. "How are your hands working out for you?"

After another moment, her Psycho Soldier opponent caught on (largely because Kensou heard Momoko shout from the crowds for him to stop using his hands), and he asked for a fork and spoon as well. Even with the fork, it took several seconds to grab the last errant strand of pasta on his first plate, during which time Xiangfei finished her second.

The first minute had almost ticked down. Kensou reached for his next plate at the same time Xiangfei reached for a third. Kensou now tried the same strategy that she was using. He dug his spoon into the pile of pasta, then stuck the fork over it and hastily began to twirl the food into a ball, using the concave surface of the spoon for help. In no time, a majority of the spaghetti on the plate was wound around his fork, and Kensou quickly raised it to his mouth, but he'd underestimated just how big the ball would be. He was only able to open wide enough to bite off about half of it, which he began to chew very hastily.

Like most of the restaurants in Italy, the pasta was house-made, so it was extremely _al dente_ and easy to chew, but he couldn't help notice that Xiangfei seemed to have no problems getting everything on her own fork down her throat, namely because she was not biting. She simply found the loose ends of spaghetti sticking out of the ball and used them to slurp down her food with gusto, seeming to inhale what was wrapped around the tines. She then quickly used both fork and spoon as tongs to lift the last strands of pasta off the plate and slurp those down, too.

_Damn, I'm doing everything wrong! _Kensou thought to himself. Sure enough, his strategy of biting caused what was left of the spaghetti ball to slip off his fork, back onto the plate. In that time, the owner gave another nod to the crowd, and moved Xiangfei's third plate over to the rapidly growing stack on the counter.

It was now three-to-one. Xiangfei started on her fourth, as Kensou tried to get what was left on his second plate into his stomach. He tried the same strategy as Xiangfei, using the silverware as tongs, and thankfully this seemed to help him. But still, even as he reached for his third plate, Xiangfei was halfway through her fourth.

_Come on, Sie_, the Psycho Soldier thought to himself as he began to twirl the pasta on his third plate. _You stood your ground against Krauser! Remember how you kept getting up, no matter how many times he knocked you down? _His love had given him the strength to keep going against impossible odds, even though Krauser had eventually mopped the floor with him.

_And this time will be different. This time, your love will give you the edge you need to win! _Fortified by this thought, Kensou resumed eating with renewed vigor. He practically inhaled his third plate, and the instant it was lifted from his place, he had grabbed his fourth, and began twirling the spaghetti before he'd finished setting it down at his placemat. Xiangfei was just starting on her fifth.

Three minutes had gone by now. The two were neck-in-neck, thanks to Xiangfei having a small accident earlier, where a small bit of ground pork went down the wrong pipe. Thankfully, she'd gotten her coughing under control quickly, with no regurgitation. But this had allowed Kensou to catch up so that they were even in their plates.

Kensou continued to match her as the seconds flew by. By the time they were on their twelfth plates, it looked like he might be pulling ahead. _I'm doing it_, he thought. _This time, my love will help me win! _He allowed himself another split second to look out at the crowds, towards Athena Asamiya, the woman he loved, the reason he had refused to stay down even when it felt like Krauser was killing him. He had lost that fight, but still considered himself a winner because he'd gotten the girl. And now, he wouldn't lose this contest because he had _her_, had finally gotten to share true romance with her.

Athena, however, still looked extremely distracted. Her deep violet eyes were watching the contest, but didn't really seem to be _watching _it, like she was looking at some invisible object that was behind Kensou. Finally, the pop idol gave a heavy sigh and stepped out of the restaurant.

_She left... she left? _For a moment, Sie found himself wondering if it was something he'd said or done, or if it had to do with her own loss to Ash Crimson in the Quarterfinals. This moment of hesitation allowed Xiangfei to pull ahead again at the fourth minute. Try as he might, Kensou was never able to catch up with her again, and when Bao pressed the button on the stopwatch to announce the time, the final score was Xiangfei with seventeen, Kensou with sixteen and a half.

As everyone in the restaurant cheered, the kung-fu girl rose from her chair, and bowed respectfully to Kensou. "You fought well," she said to him. "It was an honor to face another who possesses the gift."

Kensou stood up and returned the bow, even though his heart was not in it. "Good match," he said, even as he continued looking towards the door that led outside.

The owner of the restaurant then stepped forward and called for silence. "Thank you all for coming!" She announced. "If anyone would like to stay for lunch, we don't have much spaghetti left, but we have plenty of other things to satisfy any appetite. We look forward to serving you."

Xiangfei wiped her mouth daintily on a napkin, then said to the owner: "Earlier, I promised I'd order some cake. Please bring me a slice of that tiramisu I saw when I first came in. No, in fact, please bring me two slices!"

Even those in the crowds who had bet on Kensou had a laugh over that, and cleared a path for Xiangfei to move over to a table by the dessert cart. Kensou took that opportunity to try and sneak out, but he was still met at the door leading outside by Momoko.

"You did great, Sie!" Momoko told him. "You came _this _close to beating her!" It was then she noticed the expression on Kensou's face, and her own smile faded. "Come on, Sie, don't feel bad! You really did do awesome. You only lost by half a plate!"

"Yeah, I know," Kensou told her. "I just... feel like walking off some of that food. You keep an eye on Bao." He pulled a 20 Euro note from his pocket and handed it to the young Psycho Soldier in training. "Get yourselves some dessert or something. I'll... be back in a minute." With that, he stepped around Momoko and out into the sunny afternoon, leaving the brown-haired girl scratching her head.

* * *

It truly was a peaceful scene along the waters of the man-made Naviglio, but like K'Dash, Athena Asamiya found herself unable to truly appreciate it. The pop idol leaned against the railing at the water's edge, her violet hair stirring ever so slightly in the breeze, and touched a hand to her cheek. The skin there was still a little dry and red thanks to the extra "punishment" Ash Crimson had doled on her at the end of their fight, but at least she'd not been as badly burnt as Yamazaki.

Her skin should be restored after one more application of the ointment that Chizuru had given her, but that was not the main thing bothering her. She didn't call herself a fighter just to be cute. She knew that injuries were a part of the game. But some things had a more lasting impact than physical hurts.

She found herself remembering the third round. She shouldn't have won: Krauser had her all but defeated, just as he'd defeated Kensou. The Earl of Stroheim was less a fighter, and more a force of nature. Goro Daimon, a judo champion whose own physical strength was also legendary, had stood no chance against Krauser's might. Even with her Psycho powers, Athena did not have a prayer...

Then her fortunes changed in an instant. Her ancestor, the goddess for whom Athena was named, had offered to give her the power to defeat Krauser, warning her that it might come at a terrible price for both herself and the human race: if she moved on in the tournament, she would face Ash Crimson in the Quarterfinals, an ambitious young man who desired her powers.

Maybe it was hubris, maybe a desire to see the Psycho Soldiers finally go all the way at King of Fighters, or maybe it was both. But Athena had accepted her ancestor's offer. She defeated Krauser, but sadly, none of the goddess's power lingered in her during the Quarterfinals. Ash had dominated her in that fight, piecing apart her attack without even breaking a sweat. By all rights, she knew that she shouldn't be standing on the banks of the Naviglio now, at least not with her Psycho powers intact. But for some reason, Ash had decided not to go through with it, even after Athena was at his mercy.

Later, as she'd recovered in the hospital, Athena had found herself thinking about the decisions she'd made, how they'd almost come close to spelling doom for humanity. But more than that, she thought about why Ash had spared her, after he'd seemed so sure of his ambition. And one of the things Goddess Athena had told her came to mind.

**The boy has the power to resist it … If he wanted to, he could live his life never allowing these insignificant leavings to govern his psyche. It's mostly the boy's own disposition that drives him to seek power and shun his childhood friend. How sad.**

Athena recalled being in Ash's grip, feeling the dread that she was about to have her very soul stripped from her, leaving her an empty shell of the girl she'd always been. Her vision was hazy from the beating she'd taken, but she thought she saw Ash looking out into the crowd, maybe at someone in particular... and then all the fight had gone out of him. The boy who had seemed so sure of his conviction, his desire... had just put her down and walked away. And then, before her Psycho Soldier family had carried her to the ambulance, she heard Chizuru ask for someone to get Ash back to the stadium, which was answered by Elisabeth Blanctorche.

Hours later, after the exams from the doctors, Athena had been resting in her bed, her brain slightly addled by painkillers. But some creative minds swore that drugs could sometimes provide moments of unbridled clarity, and Athena herself had a moment where all the pieces seemed to fall into place.

Now, on the banks of the canal, Athena raised her head slightly, feeling the warm sun on her face, and smiled. _Maybe I _was _supposed to advance to the Quarterfinals_, she thought to herself, recalling the realization she'd had in the hospital. _But not to finally win glory for the Psycho Soldiers. Maybe it was to help Ash see what's truly important in life. Did you know this would happen, Goddess? Was that the reason you offered me your powers? Is this the lesson you meant to teach me? That even fate can be malleable? _Athena opened her eyes, gazing up at the afternoon sky. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw the ethereal image of her ancestor looking back at her through the clouds, smiling and closing one of her amber eyes in a wink.

"Athena!" The pop idol heard a familiar voice call her name, and saw Kensou strolling down the banks of the canal towards her, eating something that looked like a folded piece of dough with some sort of filling. The sight of him reminded her why she had left the contest earlier. It wasn't because she was still troubled by her bout with Ash, she'd come to grips with that. Rather, it was something else she'd needed to do, something she was still afraid of doing, despite the fearsome opponents she'd faced in the later rounds of the Kumite.

"You didn't get enough to eat?" Athena asked as he got closer, seeing he had more food.

"Well, I _had _to get one of these when I saw it," Kensou told her. "It's called a stromboli. It's full of cheese and meatballs, and it's... it's like three meat buns in one, but better! They really know how to eat in this country!" He took another bite, and then he remembered that he was supposed to be annoyed, because she had just ditched him during the eating contest. But when he saw the look on her face, all of that annoyance was replaced with nothing but concern. "What's wrong, babe?" He asked her.

"Oh, nothing... just thinking about things." She gave him a faint smile, but even Kensou could tell there was very little force behind it. "How'd the contest go?"

Kensou blew out a heavy sigh, shifted his gaze towards the cobbled ground. "I lost."

"I'm sorry," Athena said.

Kensou put his hand on her shoulder, not even realizing that he was getting a small streak of marinara on her white blouse, and the purple shoulder strap of her jumper. "That's okay. I just... wish I knew why you ran off like that."

Athena didn't answer, simply stared long and hard into those sometimes slow, but always caring brown eyes. Kensou started to grow uncomfortable from the scrutiny, largely because it wasn't a look of endearment. "Um... Athena?"

"Sie, will you put that... stromboli-thingy down for a minute?"

Kensou placed his food over on a nearby bench, on top of the parchment paper it had been wrapped in. "Okay," he said. "So, now wha..."

Athena cut him off by closing the gap between them, and pressing her lips to his. She shut her eyes and focused, looking past the lingering taste of garlic and oregano, trying to think only on her feelings for Sie Kensou at this very moment, and how they compared to the night she'd spent with him after Round One...

...Nothing. As Athena slowly opened her eyes, she realized that she felt like she was kissing her brother. None of the deeper feelings in her heart from a few days ago remained.

Kensou was startled by what was happening, but also seemed prepared to take it in stride. Athena felt his tongue press against her lips, trying to force them apart, and she pulled away and shook her head. "Sie... I'm sorry."

Kensou blinked in confusion. "Wait... what's going on? Why did you kiss me, then?"

Athena gave a sad sigh. She'd been rehearsing this all day in her head, and still wasn't completely happy with what she'd scripted. But she also knew it was now or never. She reached down and took Kensou's hands in hers. "Sie... you were so brave in Round One. I've... I've never seen you so focused, so determined... about anything. No matter how many times Krauser struck you, you refused to stay down."

"Because of you!" Kensou insisted. "You were what inspired me to find the strength and the will to keep fighting."

"I know. After that fight... it was the first time in my life I ever saw you as anything other than that goofy kid I grew up with. I thought that maybe... there might be something more to us, but... I can't explain it, Sie, but whatever strong feelings that fight stirred up in me... now that a few days have passed... those feelings are just... they're gone."

Kensou blinked rapidly again, not comprehending. "Gone... what do you mean, gone?"

Athena gave a small shrug. "I... I don't know if I can explain it. When we kissed just now, it just... didn't feel in here like our kisses from the night after Round One." As she spoke, she tapped two fingers against the top of her breastbone. "I just... felt like I was kissing goofy old Sie Kensou, the kid I grew up with. I don't know where those feelings went, but... they're just gone now."

The brown-haired youth shook his head. "Wait... are you _sure_ you're thinking clearly? I mean, you're not just still recovering from what Ash did..."

"I wish that were so. But... ever since I've left the hospital, I've been thinking _more_ clearly about a lot of things."

Kensou looked like he was reeling now, harder than he had from any hit Krauser had given him. He managed to make his way over to the bench and sit down on it. Then he started to stare at his hands, curling and uncurling his fingers the entire time. Athena watched him, uncertain what to do, if she should move closer to him, provide comfort, maybe? In the end, she was afraid he might interpret that the wrong way, so she approached the bench cautiously, but still kept a slight distance.

After another moment, she managed to say: "Sie... I am so sorry. I wish I still felt the same way, but like I said, I've been thinking a lot since I lost to Ash, and I don't know where those feelings went, or why I had them in the first place, but I... just don't have them now."

He looked up at her, then, his large eyes almost pleading. "Do you think... maybe... they might ever come back someday?"

"I don't know, Sie. I can read minds, but no one can predict the future." She leaned in, then, gave him a small, chaste kiss on his forehead. "But no matter what happens, you'll always be my best friend. I... I hope that can be enough." Athena had now said her peace, and as much as she hated leaving, she decided it would be harder on Kensou if she stuck around. So she quietly picked up her purse, and started up the bank of the Naviglio, back towards the restaurant.

Sie couldn't even watch her leave. He continued to stare at the ground in front of him, wondering how his fortunes could have reversed so quickly. Just a few days ago, his life finally seemed perfect. Now he was back to Square One.

"Suspension bridge effect," came a familiar voice behind him. Kensou turned, and saw the diminutive figure of his master standing behind the bench. Chin Gentsai made his way around to the front, took a seat on the bench's opposite end, his feet only barely able to touch the ground.

"How long have you been there, master?" Kensou asked his shifu.

"Long enough," the old man answered. "I had a feeling this conversation would be happening soon, which is why I've been keeping a close eye on you and Athena." He turned to face his student, eyes hidden by his wispy white hair. "Don't get bent out of shape about this, Sie. It's just the suspension bridge effect."

Kensou furrowed his brow. "You said that once, already, master. What does it mean?"

"Feelings can sometimes be made stronger when two people are put in a situation where they share mutual fear and anxiety," Chin explained. "In this case, the tournament. And in your case, it was fighting an opponent that was far out of your weight class, and standing your ground against him, against overwhelming odds. You were in very real danger during that fight. Much as Athena has found herself in similar situations because of the power she wields, seeing you face something similar made her feel what she thought was a strong attraction to you."

"But... why is it called the 'suspension bridge effect?'"

"Ever been on one?" Chin said with a short laugh. "It's usually enough to bring out fear and anxiety in most people. I saw how Athena began to act around you after your fight, when the mutual anxiety was still strong, and recognized right away what was happening. And now that you're both out of the tournament, and the danger has passed, those feelings are gone. Just know that she wasn't deliberately trying to lead you along, Sie. For a moment, she truly felt something that she believed was real. Also, know that what just happened... wasn't your fault or hers."

Sie Kensou sat there in thought for another moment, and gave his master a small bow. "I thought... for a second there, I'd finally gotten through. You think... maybe _any_ of those feelings she had might be real deep down?"

"Who can say?" Chin said, now looking out over the canal. "Not even Psycho Power can truly explain the mysteries of women's hearts. Even at my age, having been happily married long before you were born, I'm still not sure I completely understand them. It's harder when that heart belong to one as gifted and complex as Athena." After a moment, he took a sip of whatever was in one of the hollowed-out gourds dangling from his worn belt, then rose from the bench. "Mutual anxiety, Sie, that's all it was. Don't blame yourself or her." With that, Chin started off down the sidewalk in the same direction as Athena.

Sie Kensou, however, was only processing a small part of what Chin had just said. Namely, that there was a possibility that deep down in Athena's heart, some of those feelings _might _have been real.

_Meaning I've still got a chance! I'm gonna run with that! _With a smile of hope on his face, Kensou picked up his stromboli and resumed eating with renewed vigor...

* * *

ADDITIONAL NOTES

So, thanks again for your patience while I worked on this chapter. Thank you also to DavidTai, who helped me figure out how to tackle the touchy subject of Athena dumping Kensou, which probably happened behind the scenes in Jojo's fic. And thanks to Jojo, Rex, and everyone else who critiqued my K' and Kula scene over in Discord.

Thanks again for reading. I'm hoping the next chapter won't take as long. Like I've said, this is a huge cast, and I don't have ideas for all of them, so I'm still taking requests. Shoot me a PM if there's a character you'd like see have a mundane adventure in Milan.

Until next time...


	4. Chapter 4

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them or the video games

* * *

_Chapter Four: Those Left Behind_

"Damn it! Get out! Get out! Get out!" In the dimness of the hotel room, Yuki feverishly punched buttons on his controller. He was playing "Ikari Warriors," and was not having an easy time of it. Try as he might, he was unable to get the soldier on the TV screen to exit the tank before it blew in a burst of red and white pixels.

_Okay, last life_, he thought, leaning forward slightly and concentrating. But even with the analog stick on his PS 4 controller, the man on the screen still turned too slowly. _God, you think they could have finally improved the controls with this stupid port! _Yuki was able to take out the squad of soldiers in front with a grenade, but he was unable to turn in time to get the two that entered the screen from behind him. Before he could finish turning his man around, a bullet found him and it was Game Over.

Yuki swore out loud, and threw the controller down on the bed in disgust. "Why'd I even pick this game?" He muttered to himself. Ever since his loss in the Quarterfinals yesterday, Yuki had been spending his free time relaxing in his room, playing video games to try and take his mind off how empty and quiet the room felt right now.

On a whim, he'd booted up the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection, and for some reason, when faced with a choice between playing the arcade version or the console version of "Ikari Warriors," he'd chosen the latter, even though the arcade version was better. And the main reason for that was because it didn't feel right, playing the superior version without his Player 2 there to back him up.

Just like that, Yuki found himself remembering the last thing that Ai had said to him before departing with the rest of Heidern's crew for Normandy: _You're going to stay, and you're going to win, and you're gonna use the 2 million dollars to buy me a whole library of video games. I want Metal Slug, Savage Reign, Breakers, Ikari Warriors, Aggressors of Dark..._

Thinking back, he'd found it odd that Ai had been asking for games that he knew she already had ports of. But then again, Ai had always been one of those hardcore gamers who was into the vintage aspect, and also enjoyed having hard copies on cartridge or disc... it was one of the many things about his partner that Yuki found endearing.

In the end, that had been the main reason he'd picked a game he knew he would hate: to distract himself from the fact that right now, Ai was off on a dangerous mission while he was stuck here. Granted, he'd had a good reason for staying, and even though K' had defeated him in the Quarterfinals, Yuki was not left wondering what might have been, just like Ai had said. But still, it didn't feel right for Ai to be on a mission without him.

With a growl of frustration, Yuki donned a light jacket, and stepped out of his room into the hallway. Hanging around here was only reminding him of Ai, what with all the video game hardware they'd hooked up to their TV. The best way for him to take his mind off things was probably to get out for a little while.

He wasn't exactly _worried _about her, Yuki thought as he entered the elevator, pressed the button for the lobby. Ai was in very good company, and when it came to her job, she was a total professional. It was one of those things that had always boggled him. When they were in the field together, he could trust Ai with his life, and had done so several times when they'd taken down WAREZ together. In her personal life, Ai took her gaming a little too seriously, sometimes to the point where she neglected herself. Yuki had stopped counting the number of times he'd needed to turn the power off on a console, to get Ai to eat dinner or come to bed.

_But she at least remembers to shower and brush her teeth every day,_ he thought. _And she doesn't ignore me. So her devotion to her hobby doesn't bother me. _If anything, Yuki felt her gaming hobby only strengthened their partnership. It wasn't as if he didn't enjoy playing _with _her, and working together on a screen, in fictional combat situations, helped them come up with strategies they could use in the field.

Yuki was out of the hotel at this point, wandering down one of the sidewalks, not really caring where he was going. To be honest, he hadn't even paid attention to which direction he'd taken when he stepped outside. And so far, only one person had stopped him for an autograph. One of the benefits of being a secret agent: his work was known only to the truly diehard fans, so he didn't get mobbed as much as people like the Lonely Wolves, the Women Fighters, or Athena every time he passed through the hotel lobby.

Not that a little hero worship wouldn't have been nice. It was just that right now, he was still a little too distracted. This was the first time Ai had been on a mission without him, the first time since he couldn't remember when that the two had been apart for this long.

This was perhaps what gnawed at Yuki the most. Whatever the mission, he was used to completing it with Ai to back him up, and then they'd celebrate with a few cold ones and several rounds of "Samurai Shodown" or "Real Bout Fatal Fury Special." He'd reached a point where he found it hard to remember a time when Ai wasn't his partner. Except now she was more than that: she was also his rock, his best friend, his lover, the girl he relied upon more than anyone else. She felt like his missing piece, like he wasn't "whole" before he'd known her.

Which was the exact opposite of what he'd thought of Ai when they'd first met. Her fangirlish tendencies had been a little annoying at first, but her cheerfulness, and the way she could turn off the "gamer girl" like a light switch, and focus in the field, had quickly endeared her to him.

Now... it just didn't feel right for Ai to be off on a solo mission. She was still on a team, true, but Yuki wasn't a part of that team. So it felt all wrong. _I really hope she comes back_, he thought as he walked on through the streets, trying and failing to find distraction.

* * *

"This seat taken, blue eyes?"

Terry Bogard, still seated at the same outdoor table at the ristorante where he'd eaten lunch with his friends, turned his head slightly at the sound of the familiar voice. He saw Vanessa standing there, hands resting casually in the pockets of her dark brown slacks.

He shook his head and resumed staring at the cobbled street. "Not anymore," he said. "Andy, Ryo, and Robert went back to their hotel rooms a little while ago to grab a 'siesta' with their women. And Joe went off to go find a gelato stand."

"So once again, the Lone Wolf is in his element," Vanessa said with a laugh as she took one of the chairs next to him. A waiter came up to her shortly after she'd sat down, and the feisty redhead ordered a carafe of the house red wine and two glasses.

"Um, you don't need the second glass," Terry said, not bothering to look at her. "I'm sticking to beer."

"Well, when you're ready for another, it's on me," Vanessa told him. "I owe you, remember?"

Terry said nothing in response, just watched the traffic meandering past their outdoor table. Though it was Saturday, he only saw the occasional car or taxicab, or horse-drawn cart that operated solely for the tourists.

Vanessa said nothing as well, until the wine was brought and she'd poured herself a generous glass. "You know, we could be doing this in the hotel bar. Drinks are free there."

Terry shrugged. "Yeah, but if I did that, I know that every five minutes I'd have a fanboy coming up to my table to beg for an autograph or a selfie. And I'm really not in the mood to socialize right now, but Chiz would rip me a new one if she found out I said no to a fan."

"I gotcha," Vanessa said, and sipped her wine. "Honestly, I feel the same way right now. So why so glum? You worried about your lady friend?"

"Not worried," Terry explained, as he turned to face the boxer. "Mary's a professional, and she's got a bunch of equally-seasoned professionals backing her up. I'm just annoyed that she ran off without telling me, and now she's having fun beating the crap out of bad guys, while I'm stuck here dog-sitting. If I had a choice, I'd like to be busting skulls next to her." He then picked another slice of prosciutto off the plate in front of him, and offered it to Anton, who was lying at his feet. The dog snapped it up eagerly and then licked his muzzle.

"Hm," Vanessa said with a nod. "Well, at least you _could _have gone if you'd known about it. Seth gave me the spiel about how he didn't think I was fully recovered, even though my arm is fine."

For a moment, Terry wondered if she was trying to make him feel guilty, since he was the one who'd dislocated her shoulder in the first place, so he quickly glanced down at his plate again, eyes hidden by the brim of his cap. "Sorry," he muttered.

Vanessa laughed loudly. "Quit staring at your food for a sec and look at me, pal," he then heard her say. Reluctantly, Terry glanced up and saw Vanessa smiling at him, offering her wineglass in a toast. "There's no hard feelings, okay? I let you _have _that win. I totally could have taken you with one arm. But I don't think Mary would have been happy with me if I damaged your handsome mug. So, just forget it, okay? It was a friendly fight. Sometimes, shit happens."

In the end, Terry knew she was definitely lying about letting him win, but he relented, and clinked his glass against hers. After they drank their toast, Vanessa's expression changed suddenly, her amber eyes becoming more serious. She gave a sigh as she set her wineglass down. "And anyway, there's more to it than that. I mean, I _know _I'm a hundred percent, but I couldn't convince Seth, and if I _can't _convince him of that, he doesn't like me being in the field. I think it's because... he knows that if something were to happen to me, it would be his responsibility to break the news to my husband and daughter. And also to tell them that I've been leading a double life. I don't think he wants that burden, and... it's not fair for me to slap him with it."

Terry nodded, sipped his Moretti La Rossa. "I know it's none of my business, but why haven't you ever told your husband?"

The red-haired mercenary took another big gulp of wine, then refilled her glass. "Because I like fighting, and I love the thrill of the chase. I _tried _to settle down after I got married and knocked up, and I love my hubby and my little girl, but... the old life is just in my blood. It's my true passion. If I gave it up, I'd be dead inside. But at the same time, my man thinks I _have _given that life up. It's... a sticky situation."

Terry simply nodded. It did sound like a sticky situation, and he was hardly the one to give lectures on what Vanessa should or shouldn't do. So instead, he fed the dog more antipasti from his plate.

"Um, should he be eating that?" Vanessa asked him.

Terry shrugged. "His mom's not here to stop me. But I probably should cut him off. If he makes the air in our room unbreathable later, Mary is gonna ask me if I was feeding him human food. And she's smart enough to know when I'm lying to her. It's time for him to walk some of it off." He reached down and unclipped Anton's leash, then gave him a small pat on the rear. "Go exploring, boy," he told the dog. A few seconds later, Anton got up, gave a small shimmy, and trotted off down the street.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Um... will he be..."

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Terry assured her. "At some point tonight, he'll scratch at the door to our room. I have no idea how he gets in the hotel, or finds us, but he manages."

"A self-reliant dog," Vanessa said. "I wish I could find one of those. My kid keeps asking when we can get a pet, and I don't want to be one of those lame moms that gets a stupid goldfish or hermit crab. But at the same time, if we get a dog, I just _know _I'm gonna have to be the one who has to walk it."

Terry actually laughed a little. "Well, it's a pity Anton's fixed. Otherwise, we could help you with that problem."

"Hey, you two." Terry and Vanessa heard a female voice behind them, and turned their heads to see Whip standing there. It took them a second to recognize her, as she did not have her signature weapon, nor was she wearing her usual military uniform. Instead, she was dressed casually in black sneakers, blue jeans, and a black spaghetti-strap tank top.

For a moment, the younger woman fidgeted nervously in place, uncomfortable with the look she was getting. Then she asked: "Do... do you mind if I sit?"

Vanessa nodded to an empty chair. "Misery loves company."

Whip nodded back, and sat down at the table. "When I saw you two sitting together, I figured that you were discussing the fact that you both got left behind. I'm in the same club. I mean, I _feel_ fine, so I don't know what the commander's beef is. I guess he just doesn't want to see anyone else under his command get hurt, after what happened in Round One of the tournament."

Vanessa shrugged, and sipped her wine. "Well, there are worse cities to get left behind in. I went to the Academy of Fine Arts earlier and the Opera House at La Scala to get some pictures, so the family won't know my real reason for being here. Had to buy some souvenirs for them, too. I gotta say... out of all the cities I've been to that have hosted KoF tournaments, this is probably the prettiest."

"Robert showed us around the city before we had lunch here," Terry said. "I wasn't in the mood, but I have to admit, we saw some nice buildings. I mean, they have a shopping mall here that looks like it's from the fifteenth century."

"Oh," said Whip. "I wouldn't know. I haven't done much sightseeing. After I woke up and had breakfast, I checked in on my brother, but he's way too stressed about the Finals, so I decided to leave him alone. I've just been hanging out at the hospital most of the day. But I needed to stretch my legs and get some air. That's when I went walking and happened to see you two."

Both Terry and Vanessa nodded in understanding, knowing that the Ikari team member was keeping vigil over her comrade. "Um... how is Clark?" Terry asked her.

"A lot better," Whip answered. "Most of his color has come back, so I think they're gonna wake him up tomorrow. I just hope Ralf and the Commander are here to see it." The dark-haired girl then blew a frustrated breath out through her nostrils. "I really should be in Normandy with them. I feel like I'm going daft here, just waiting." It was then she noticed the unclaimed glass sitting upside-down next to the wine carafe in the center of the table. She raised a quizzical eyebrow at Vanessa. "Um... do you mind?"

Vanessa gave a small shake of her head. "Not at all. The more, the merrier."

Whip gave a nod of thanks, and reached for the carafe. Without warning, a gloved hand closed around its neck and slid it out of the Ikari's reach. "Not so fast, soldier," a voice spoke. "You're under the legal drinking age."

Whip scowled at the woman who had taken the bottle. "But commander, I've had a few in the hotel this week. No one has ever carded me..."

Leona Heidern raised her hand, silencing her subordinate. Then the blue-haired woman rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Technically, I'm _not_ the commander. Not at the moment. The old man is in charge of operations here, and Heidern's last order before he left is that you and I are currently off the active duty roster." Leona then picked up the glass, placed it in front of Whip, and poured some wine for her. "Which means I have no authority right now."

Whip smiled as she picked up the glass. "Thanks, commander."

"What did I just say?" Leona responded, as she took another of the empty chairs. "Just don't drink too much, okay?"

"Don't worry, com-... um, Leona. After I'm done with this glass, I'm going back to the hospital."

The blue-haired warrior gave a nod. "I'll probably come with you. Don't have much else to do." The other people around the table couldn't be sure, but they swore they heard regret in Leona's voice. Definitely not something that was normally there. But none of them had imbibed enough alcohol at that point to be bold enough to press the matter. Terry came closest, but he'd been sticking to beer all day, and had been eating some heavy food, which slowed down the effects.

Leona ignored the looks that passed between the other three. Instead, she fixed her gaze on the wine carafe for a moment, after which she turned to Vanessa and raised an eyebrow.

Vanessa nodded. "Help yourself. I can always get another."

"Thank you," Leona said flatly, and motioned to the waiter to bring a glass.

"I gotta say," Vanessa told her. "I'm a little surprised to see you sitting here. You typically don't socialize at these things, unless it's with your unit."

Leona was silent until the glass was placed in front of her, then she filled it with the carafe and took a generous sip. "It's... been an enlightening week," she then said. "I won't lie. There was a moment when I thought I wasn't going to live to see today. And I was prepared for that. To sacrifice one's life so that their unit, their friends, their family... come to no further harm... there is nothing more pure in this world. I was ready to die for them, if it came to that."

Everyone else at the table exchanged silent glances. But they all knew Leona was referring to the start of Round Three, when she'd needed to unleash the inhuman forces deep within her own body and psyche, forces she constantly kept at bay through her iron-clad self-control, had needed to become something dark and terrible in order to destroy the clone of Rugal Bernstein, so it could no longer harm those Leona cared about. Out of all of them, though, Whip obviously had the most understanding of the gravity behind those words. She silently nodded at Leona, and took a sip of wine.

For a few minutes, a tension seemed to hang over the table, palpable enough to be cut with a knife. Finally, Vanessa decided to attempt conversation. "So... I noticed that you seemed okay after that fight. Which was surprising. That freak was hitting pretty damn hard. From where I was sitting, it looked like he broke your face."

Leona gave a small shrug. "It's... my other half. My body heals faster when... I'm in that state."

"Hm, that's nifty," Vanessa said with a shrug. "Wish I had that ability right now."

Leona quirked a thin blue eyebrow. "Do you really?"

"Shit!" The redhead cursed under her breath, suddenly remembering who he was talking to. "I'm sorry... I already forgot... I'm just... a little frustrated that I'm stuck here, and... well..."

"Forget it," Leona said curtly, and took another sip of her drink. Vanessa drained the rest of her own glass rather quickly, and refilled it from the carafe.

Another tense silence hung over the table. Then the ersatz commander went on to say: "I... do understand the frustration of being left behind." Her thoughts were clearly on Normandy, her adopted father and Ralf.

"I think we all understand that," Terry added.

"I'll drink to it," Whip said, and took a sip from her glass.

Leona turned to Terry, then. "I... just wanted to say that... it was an honor to fight your other half. She knew the odds were against her from the start, but she still battled on, and refused to stay down. She earned my respect."

Terry was not the only one at the table wearing a puzzled look. After blinking several times, he managed to get out: "Um... thank you." Then he raised his glass at the blue-haired warrior.

"You _sure_ you're okay, comman... Leona?" Whip asked her comrade.

Leona nodded, sipped her wine. "Like I said, it's been an enlightening week."

By now, Vanessa had drank enough to feel like breaching the subject. "Does this have anything to do with what happened at the end of your match yesterday?"

"It might," Leona replied, in a tone that suggested it definitely did. Everyone in the stadium, and everyone watching on TV or live streaming apps around the world, had seen the Ikari soldier kiss Iori Yagami at the end of their match.

Whip was slowly warming up to Leona's initial comment about her lack of authority, which made her a little bolder. "So... you and Iori? I'm... a little surprised."

"So am I," Leona said with a shrug. "But... I spent some time with him after Round Three, and... I found that I... can stand being with him."

Vanessa laughed aloud. "You like him! No shame in admitting it!"

"I don't hate him, if that's what you mean," was the curt response the redhead got.

It might have been the wine, or the fact that someone like Leona was actually sitting at a table with people who were not in her Ikari "family," but Vanessa was getting a little more bold. Also, her instincts as an agent helped her to read the situation. "And this is why you sounded regretul earlier. You're stuck here in Milan, and you can't even spend the day with Iori! So what happened?"

"Vanessa," Terry said. "You may want to ease off..."

"I don't know," Leona said suddenly. "After the Quarterfinals, I was waiting in his room for him, taking a nap on his bed, and then I felt two pairs of hands grab me. Before I knew what was happening, I was out in the hallway. And I'd put the key he gave me on the nightstand, so I had no way of getting back in. Well, I _could _have gotten back in, but slicing the door open with my bare hands would have gotten me evicted from the hotel. So I couldn't do anything except wait for Iori, and after he showed up and I told him what happened, he disappeared inside the room, then I heard him yelling. After waiting several minutes, I knocked but didn't get an answer. Since then, I've tried calling him a couple of times, and when he actually _does_ pick up, I can always hear him screaming threats and profanity at someone in the background, then he tells me he's sorry, but it's a bad time to talk. That's when I decided to go walking. Interesting that I wound up here, with everyone else that got left behind." Leona finished her story with another sip of wine.

"Iori never apologizes," Whip pointed out.

Her blue-haired comrade shrugged. "He did today."

"It really _has _been a hell of a week," Terry pointed out.

As if to drive that point home, the elder Bogard then noticed a familiar blonde man walking across the street towards their table. "Hey, guys," Yuki said as he got close to them. "What's goin' on?"

"Not much," said Vanessa. "Just thinking about how crazy it is that _everyone _seems to be finding their way here. Are we giving off some sort of beacon?"

"Probably just coincidence," Leona remarked.

"Well, whatever it is, it's still pretty crazy," Whip said with a laugh.

"Can I sit?" Yuki asked them, as he moved towards an empty chair.

Vanessa was now laughing. "Why not? I mean, look around. I'd say you belong here."

As a government agent, Yuki had a sharp mind, and when he saw the other occupants of the table, he quickly figured out what Vanessa meant. He laughed as he draped his jacket over the back of the chair, then pulled the chair out and sat down. "Looks like it."

Vanessa refilled her glass yet again, and noting that the carafe was almost empty, ordered another, and asked the waiter for one more glass.

"No, thanks," Yuki told the waiter. "I'll have a Volpina, from the tap."

"Not into wine?" Vanessa asked him.

Yuki shook his head. "Nah, I've always been more of a beer connoisseur. Least, I try to be. One of the things I love about this country. No one's carded me all week."

"Likewise," Whip said.

A moment later, the waiter came with the drinks, and Vanessa picked up her carafe and offered it to the two Ikaris.

"I'll have just a _little _more," Whip said. "It seems this is turning into a party."

Vanessa, however, clearly had a different idea of what "little" meant, and filled Whip's glass almost to the brim, despite the younger woman's protests. "Well, now I gotta eat something," Whip muttered, and reached for one of the hard rolls from the basket that sat in front of Terry.

After serving Leona, the redhead then topped off her own glass. "Take it easy, Vanessa," Terry warned. "Mary's told me how rowdy you can get when you're away from the family. I really don't feel like carrying you back to the hotel."

"But you're saying you _could_, if you wanted to?" Vanessa asked, quirking one of her eyebrows at Terry.

"Don't get any ideas," Terry said, and sipped his own drink.

In the end, Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Fine, I won't order a third carafe." She then turned her attention to the latest arrival, who had been silently sipping his red beer. "So, how's your day been, Yuki?"

"Probably the same as all of yours," he answered. "Wishing I was somewhere else right now."

Everyone else at the table gave a solemn nod. After a moment, Yuki went on: "I mean, I don't regret staying behind, even though I lost. It just... doesn't feel right, Ai being off on a mission, and me not backing her up."

Vanessa and Whip each nodded again. Leona turned her head slightly towards the blonde agent. "You and your partner... you're close?"

"You could say that," Yuki said. "We've been through a lot together, both on and off the field."

"You trust her," Leona told him. "The two of you are a unit, so you feel you should be there with her. I can relate to this."

Yuki's brow scrunched for a moment as he studied the blue-haired woman. "Um... thanks," he said. "I think."

"You should definitely thank her," Whip said with a giggle. She knew it was rare for Leona to say anything like that to anyone outside of her unit. The dark-haired girl was still shocked to be hearing it herself.

Leona saw the look on her comrade's face, and blew a slight breath of annoyance out through her nostrils. "What? I _can _relate to it. Our own unit is incomplete right now. I mean, it still would be even if we were with them, but... even with the extra help from external forces, it doesn't feel right having Heidern and Ralf off without us."

"That's the truth," Whip said sadly, as she spread some butter on her roll. "But when the old man gives orders..." She sighed and bit into the bread.

"So, Yuki," Vanessa asked, looking for something to talk about. "I'm sorry to say that I'm not as familiar with you and your partner as some of the other people at this tournament. Are you able to tell me anything about what it is you do?"

"Certain things," Yuki told her, and went on to talk a little about his and Ai's work for the Japanese government, not so much the classified parts, just their role in taking down WAREZ.

"Interesting," Leona said after he was finished. "We knew about WAREZ, of course, but one morning Heidern simply remarked at briefing that they were no longer a threat to the free world, but he never said who was responsible for taking them down."

"Same here," Vanessa added. "I don't think Seth knew that it was you and your partner that did it, just... told me and Ramon one morning not to worry about WAREZ anymore. Or so we thought, anyway."

"I have to say," Terry told him. "It was very cool seeing you and Ai in action at this tournament. You... have an interesting set of skills. Very clever how you managed to beat someone that's almost indestructible."

Terry was, of course, referring to Yuki's fight with Duo Lon in Round 3. The blond agent simply smirked at Terry and took a long sip of beer. "I think we've all learned, in the battles we've fought, that no one is truly indestructible. Sometimes, you just need to analyze your opponent and think outside the box."

Everyone at the table nodded again. They all knew _that _was true. After all, the history of the King of Fighters tournament was riddled with opponents who'd seemed invincible (Rugal Bernstein, Goenitz, and Krizalid, to name a few), but in the end, they'd all been defeated.

"I did like how your partner managed to rattle Ash," Vanessa said with a laugh. "I mean, he _was_ a huge baby about it, and he definitely overreacted, but... she got under his skin, which is hard to do. Gotta give her credit for that."

"Yeah, she definitely has that gift," Yuki conceded. "It almost makes me sorry that Ash is fighting that alien freak tomorrow. I have a bad feeling about that thing, in particular what will happen if it wins the tournament. Otherwise, I'd love to watch Ash get beaten to a pulp for what he did to Ai."

"I don't have a good feeling about that Dio character, either," Leona said grimly. "Like you, it's just a hunch, but... that thing might conceivably be more trouble than Orochi, if it wins."

Everyone at the table seemed to share that sentiment. Even Terry, who was not in the same line of work as the other four, had gone up against the Howard Commission more than once. That, combined with his street smarts, had made him good at spotting trouble. At the moment, however, there was nothing any of them could do but just wait and see what happened tomorrow. So Yuki decided to share a story. "You know, speaking of Ash and Ai, can you believe there were some assholes after Round One who tried to accuse Ai of cheating?"

Vanessa quirked a crimson eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Yuki nodded. "Yeah, because of the way she used her Neo Geo Pocket to fight him." He then told them about how after Ai had been discharged from the hospital in the midnight hours before Round Two, Yuki was helping her back to their hotel room, when some people who were in Milan for the tournament, and had clearly been knocking some back at the bar, started yelling at Ai from the other side of the street, saying things like how if she couldn't fight Ash without cheating, maybe she should have stayed home, and also that she was asking for what she got, hiding in her balloon.

The poor girl was still on painkillers at that point, and could only stare confused through glassy eyes. "Yuki," she'd said weakly. "W-what are they talking about? Are... they talking to me? How... how did I cheat? I just... did what I was trained to do..."

As he told the story now, Yuki once more started to feel his blood pressure rise slightly. The rest of the table seemed to share the sentiment, except for Leona, who was as usual unreadable.

"People are idiots," Vanessa grumbled as she drained her wineglass.

"Seriously," Whip said. "They might as well have accused _me_ of cheating, because I fought with Voodoo."

"Or they might as well accuse Billy Kane, or Mr. Big, or Mai, or anyone else who fights with weapons," said Terry.

""You know, that's exactly what I told them," Yuki said. "I went on to say that if they wanted to accuse anyone of cheating, it should be Chang Koehan, because he actually did. But I was willing to bet that any one of them would be too chicken shit to say that to his face, which is why they were picking on a girl who was too out-of-it to defend herself. That shut them up quick."

"You showed more restraint than me," Vanessa said, pouring a little more wine into her glass. "I'd have just decked them."

"Sometimes, showing restraint makes one appear more threatening," Leona pointed out. "I've encountered men similar to those drunks on past missions, people who are all noise, no action. You could waste hours interrogating them, but I find that if you break just a single finger, they start spilling their guts. Doesn't even have to be an important finger."

"Well, I did take one step towards them after mentioning Chang," Yuki admitted. "That pretty much scattered them."

Vanessa laughed. "Hah! Pussies."

"I think it's cute the way you had her back," Whip remarked.

"She's my partner," Yuki said with a shrug. "She'd have done the same for me."

"We can all say we're fortunate enough to know someone like that," said Leona. "Be it personal or professional. Or both."

"Tell me about it," said Terry. "What I wouldn't give to be at that person's side right now. But... as long as I'm stuck here, at least it's in good company."

Vanessa raised up her wineglass towards the center of the table. "I'd like to propose a toast... to those left behind."

Leona nodded, raised her own glass. "That... does seem appropriate."

"I'll get behind that," Yuki said, offering his pint glass.

"I think we all can," said Whip.

Terry raised his own glass to the other four. "To those left behind," he echoed. Everyone then clinked together and drank. Terry drained the last of the beer from his glass and set it down.

Vanessa noticed this, and gave him a nod. "Like I said, your next one's on me. What are you drinking?"

"Moretti La Rossa," Terry answered her. "And I guess I should order another antipasti plate."

"I should get something, too," said Vanessa. "To soak up all this wine."

Whip swirled the wine in her glass for a moment. "I'm a little hungry, myself. Com... um, Leona, do you want to split a pizza or something before we go back to the hospital?"

"Might as well," the blue-haired woman said with a shrug. "I haven't eaten enough today."

"I could probably eat, too," said Yuki. "Let's ask the waiter for some menus."

For the first time since he'd gotten up that morning, Terry Bogard allowed himself a small smile as he looked over those assembled. It was amusing that he'd started out here eating with familiar company, but was now about to eat with less familiar company. Still, he knew there were far worse places he could be right now...

* * *

ADDITIONAL NOTES

SNK has confirmed that Vanessa has a husband and a four-year-old child, but they're never specified its gender. I felt like giving Vanessa a daughter, just because.

And you probably already knew this, but Voodoo is what Whip calls her trademark weapon.

And I've never actually played the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection. I've read that it contains both arcade and home console ports of "Ikari Warriors." Yuki's troubles with the game are based off my own memories of the NES version when I was a kid. I played it for two minutes at my cousin's house and never touched it again.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to post a review!


	5. Chapter 5

So, it's been a while since I updated this. But that's mainly because real life and other fanfic projects involving smut have been keeping me pretty busy. But I'm hoping it won't take me very long to get the last few chapters of this out. Hope you enjoy the latest!

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them, or the video games.

* * *

_Chapter Five: A "Friendly" Game_

**Giardini Publici Indro Montanelli**

A public park was certainly the last place you'd expect to see a man like Geese Howard. Yet there he was, seated on a long marble bench in a walled-off area containing a statue of the Italian journalist for whom the park was named. Seated to his left was Wolfgang Krauser, and the two had a chessboard set up on the flat surface between them. Also on the benches, farther down, were Billy Kane, Mr. Big, and Ryuji Yamazaki, playing some game that involved dice. The monument was devoid of anyone else, but then, most people would be smart enough to avoid the company of men such as these.

Despite the fact that the statue and benches were walled off by marble, several large trees grew around them, providing ample shade. At the moment, however, Geese was finding it hard to relax in such a pastoral setting. He was focused on only two things: the pain in his side, and the fact that he was losing.

"We could've done this same thing back in the room, where there's air conditioning," Yamazaki grumbled. He was still recovering from his fight with Iori Yagami, and while his burns were healing, the skin under his black shirt itched horribly.

"No one forced you to come," Geese grumbled as he studied the board in front of him. His finger hovered over his queen for a moment, and in the end, he decided against it, moving the king's knight's pawn two squares up.

"Well, I'm just sayin', you can sit around trees all you want _after _you retire, right?" The bandage-wrapped thug insisted. "Why not enjoy the sin of central air while you still can?" With a shrug, Yamzaki tossed his cigarette butt over the wall, then pulled a fresh one out, stuck it in his mouth, and lit it.

"You know, I actually agree with him," Big said as he puffed on his own carcinogen of choice, a more substantial Cuban cigar. He'd shed his rather expensive ermine overcoat not long ago and placed it on the bench next to himself, leaving him in a black pullover. "There a reason we couldn't do this back at the hotel?"

"Maybe I just felt like getting out for a bit," Geese said to his rival. "I think more clearly in places like this."

"Not that it's helping you much," Krauser remarked as he captured his opponent's bishop with a rook. "Check."

Geese clenched his teeth in anger as he studied the board. Krasuer's rook was two squares back from Geese's king, which was right in front of his queen. Moving the king out of check... was going to cost him his most powerful piece. Frantically, he looked to see if there was any piece he could move in front of his king... and saw none. Angrily, he moved his king to the side, allowing Krauser to capture Geese's queen on the next move. The Earl of Stroheim smirked triumphantly under his moustache as he lined it up next to the other chessmen he'd captured from Geese.

"How did I _not _see that one coming?" Geese muttered as he moved his king diagonally backwards to take the rook. At least he could get some satisfaction out of _that_, though Krauser got the better deal. His half-brother was no fool, and clearly knew when it was necessary to sacrifice a man to achieve a loftier goal. "It was right in front of me. It's this blasted pain in my side, it's distracting me!"

"Or perhaps you chose the wrong game," Krauser chided him. "This _is _a game of kings, after all. And only one of us is truly noble."

Geese's dark eyes narrowed into slits. "Hey, I'm the _King _of South Town, and don't forget it."

"Not anymore, you're not," Big reminded him.

"I haven't retired _yet_," Geese snapped at his rival. "And anyway, do you really think I wouldn't leave without putting a few security measures in place for the Howard Commission?"

Billy was starting to fidget uncomfortably on the bench. He clearly didn't like thinking about this. On the one hand, the man who'd taken him in and made him what he was would soon be off God knew where, and though Billy felt obligated to follow him, on the other hand he also knew Geese probably wouldn't allow it. Besides, as much as he owed his boss, he couldn't just abandon his sister, the only family he had left. "My turn," he said hastily, and scooped up the dice. After shaking them in his sweating fist, he tossed them in the direction of the statue. They ricocheted off the marble base, bounced back in the direction of the three players, and landed on the ground a few inches from Billy's feet. "Bollocks!" He cursed when he saw the snake eyes staring back up at him.

"Looks like this was our round," Big said triumphantly. Angrily, Billy pulled some Euros from his pocket and flung them in the direction of Big and Yamazaki.

"Hey, Billy," Yamazaki asked the blond man. "You think you could, maybe, put some of this anti-burn stuff Chiz gave me on my back?"

Billy scowled at his former teammate. "Wot am I, yer bleedin' nursemaid? You got hands, don'tcha?"

"Well, you _are _gonna need a new job soon," Mr. Big said with a shrug as he counted the Euro notes he'd just won, folded them neatly in half, and added them to a gold clip that already had a sizable amount of cash in it. "Fortunately, I might be able to use someone like you."

"Forget it, Chrome Dome," retorted Billy. "Ya been circlin' like a vulture ever since the Boss made his announcement. I'm onto you!"

"And it's unnecessary, anyway," Geese said without looking up from the board. "He'll still have gainful employment at the Howard Commission, if he chooses to stay."

"What sort of employment?" Big asked.

For just a moment, Geese looked up and the corners of the smile grew a bit dangerous. "Don't really think that's any of your business, now is it, Big? And anyway, I think it's your roll."

Big met the stare, his own expression unreadable under his shades. Then he laughed, snatched up the dice, and started rolling. Geese gave him a nod, then turned back to his own game.

"Finally," Yamazaki muttered. "My armpits were growing mushrooms."

"Bet they look like mushrooms right now," Billy said as he reached into the cooler they'd brought with them and pulled out a longneck.

"I'll have another as well," Krauser said, also not looking up from the board. "One of the less cold ones this time."

"Last I checked, you ain't my boss," Billy said as he twisted the top off his beer.

"Oh, just give him one," Geese said, defusing the situation before it escalated. Fights breaking out in the hotel suite were one thing, it was easier to pay for the damages. Fights breaking out here in a place full of women and children was probably something Chizuru would frown upon. "It'll help keep his mouth shut, at the very least."

"Aye aye, skip," Billy said, took another beer from the cooler without bothering to check the temperature, and tossed it at Krauser, who snatched it expertly out of midair with one hand while his dark eyes never left the board. He frowned when he felt the chill of the glass biting his hand, but still twisted the top off and took a sip anyway. After another moment, he moved one of his pawns up a space.

As if Geese had been waiting for him to make up his mind, he quickly moved his remaining knight to capture Krauser's queen's knight's pawn. Krauser's remaining rook, two spaces up and one across, was now a target, as was his queen, as Krauser hadn't moved her yet.

"The tables have turned," Geese said with a triumphant smirk. "You can only save one of them, Krauser. Which will it be?"

Krauser, without even flinching, moved his queen up until it was one diagonal space away from his opponent's king, poised to strike. "Check," he said coldly, though he was smirking underneath his moustache.

Geese gave a hiss of rage through clenched teeth. He was unable to take Krauser's queen with his king, since it would put him in check, due to the pawn that Krauser had just moved, which guarded the queen's diagonal flank. At the same time, the queen was poised to take Geese's knight after he moved the king out of check. With a growl, he made the only move he could make, and somehow managed not to curse out loud as Krauser captured his knight a moment later.

"You seem to be slipping, old man," Big remarked as he tossed the dice against the statue's base. "Maybe it's for the best you're retiring."

"I'm not even ten years older than you," Geese growled at the other crime boss. "And also, if you wanna talk about slipping, how far did _you_ get in this tournament? Oh, that's right. You lost in the first fucking round because your former bouncer mopped the floor with you! Meanwhile, I actually got farther than you, and beat my old rival."

Big was silent, but underneath his shades, the look in his eyes suggested was ready to whip out his eskrima. Krauser cast a glance over at him and said: "He has a point there. So focus on your own game."

The subtle threat from the Earl was all the motivation Big needed to do just that. "Your roll," he said hastily to Yamazaki, passing him the dice.

The blond man blew on the dice in his fist, and then muttered: "Come on, baby, daddy needs a new pair of knives." After shaking vigorously, he let the dice fly. They ricocheted off the base of the statue, rolled back towards the feet of the three players, and when they stopped, the numbers facing up were five and two.

Yamazaki gave a high-pitched laugh, and scooped the dice up again. "And that's my round!" Both Billy and Big were barely able to contain their muttered curses as they passed money off to him.

"Let me look at those dice," Big said, holding out his hand for them.

"Now, now, we all looked at them before we started," Yamazaki chided the other two. "Do you _really _think I would cheat?"

"Of course ya would!" Billy snapped at him. "An' let's not forget that after we all looked at the dice, ya conveniently dropped one! Accident, my arse! We been on the same team. I know yer hands are like rocks!"

Yamazaki shrugged, and started to collect up all the cash and stash it in his wallet. "Yeah, well, I haven't been feeling a hundred percent since Iori barbecued me."

"Oh, bullshit!" Both Billy and Mr. Big shouted at the same time. It looked like things might get violent, and then a familiar voice was heard from the entrance to the monument: "It's kind of weird to see the five of you in broad daylight together. But then, this whole week has been like that."

As one, the gazes of all five turned and saw Terry Bogard standing there, hands resting casually in the pockets of his jeans. Billy reached for his bo staff, which was split and coiled by his side, and flicked his wrist, instantly combining the chained segments into a solid whole, but Geese raised a hand.

"Relax, Billy," he said. "Terry isn't here to cause trouble."

"Why would I?" Terry said with a shrug. "I was just taking a walk and I heard you guys arguing. I couldn't resist checking it out. Besides, like Chizuru said, this is supposed to be a friendly fighting tournament."

"Wanna join our game?" Yamazaki asked him. "The more, the merrier."

Terry took a moment to appraise the game they were playing, and shook his head. "Sorry, but Jeff Bogard didn't raise a sucker. I know better than to get involved in games of chance with someone like you." He tipped his cap at Big and Billy. "I'm surprised these two didn't know better."

Krauser, his eyes still on the board, laughed a little at that. Geese gestured to the marble benches. "Have a seat, if you want."

"Why not?" Terry answered, and claimed a spot just off to the side, where he could watch both games easily.

Although, the dice game had slowed down a little. Now that there was a possibility Yamazaki had loaded them, Billy looked them over carefully before throwing them. As the blond man studied the dice, Big smoked his cigar and asked Terry: "So, Bogard, I bet it must have sucked to lose to your rival."

Terry shrugged. "Probably not as much as it sucked to lose to your old employee in the first round. At least I can say I've beaten Geese before."

Geese, Billy and and Yamazaki all exploded into laughter. Big started to reach for his eskrima, but Geese raised a hand. "Let him have that one, Biggie-boy," he said with a chuckle. "You had it coming. Billy, give the man a beer."

"Right," Billy pulled a beer out of the cooler and tossed it to Terry.

Big sat there for another moment, his hand still poised, but then he finally sat back on the bench and took several more puffs of his stogie. "You gonna roll, Billy? My clothes are going out of style."

"They're not already?" Yamazaki quipped.

"Watch it, band-aid," Big said menacingly. "I don't think Geese would care if I hurt _you_."

Terry twisted the top off his beer and took a sip. Then he noticed the walking stick leaning against the bench next to Geese. "Nice stick," he remarked. "I think it suits you."

Geese looked up from the chessboard, and his eyes flicked down to the wooden cane. "Yeah, well... the doctor wouldn't let me leave the hospital without it. Truth is, I don't need it." He stood, grabbed the stick, and tossed it over the wall surrounding the statue. Though as he was sitting back down, Terry couldn't help but notice him resisting the urge to bring his hand to his side.

"Careful, boss!" Billy remarked. "Don't pull yer stitches."

Geese laughed, albeit a little painfully, as he sat back down. "You sound like my mother."

Terry laughed a little, as well. Then he noticed the chess match taking place between Geese and Krauser. "Interesting to see you two playing this game together," he pointed out.

Geese was silent for a moment as he studied the board, then he moved his king's rook's pawn two spaces up. "Well, I wanted to find _some_ way to face him, since we can't have our match tomorrow after what that damn alien thing did to me."

Terry was pleasantly buzzed from the beer he'd been having all day, but he still picked up on what Geese had said. "Wait... what do you mean 'tomorrow'? You two are both out of the tournament, right?"

Geese hissed out a swear between clenched teeth. "Damn! Just... forget I said anything."

Terry was about to open his mouth again, but Krauser repeated: "Forget he said anything." After hearing that, Terry simply shrugged and took another sip of beer. A few minutes later, Krauser moved his queen, putting Geese's king in check yet again.

"Shit!" Geese growled as he moved the king out of danger, only to have the pawn he just moved taken a split-second later by the queen.

"Perhaps you're lucky that we can only play a game masquerading as battle, as opposed to the real thing," Krauser said with a chuckle as he laid the pawn off to the side, at the head of his row of conquered. "Maybe you should have taken my offer to let you play as white."

"I told you, I don't _need _that handicap!" Geese growled. "Besides, black suits me better."

Terry laughed a little at that, which caused Geese to turn back towards the elder Bogard. "Yes, I'm sure you find this amusing, to see me in a state some might consider 'humbled.'"

"No," said Terry. "I thought it was funny because I agree. Black _does _suit you better."

"You're full of it!" Big called over to them. "I'm sure you love seeing him so humbled right now."

"Wait until my side wound heals!" Geese called over to him. "Then you'll see just how 'humbled' I really am!"

To everyone's surprise, Terry reached over and gave the crime lord a clap on his shoulder. "Will you relax? He's wrong. I didn't come here to gloat. If anything, I can't help but admire you. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I'll ever _respect _you, but for this tournament, I do admire you."

Geese turned away from the chessboard towards his old nemesis, one blond eyebrow raised warily. "Why?"

Terry laughed and took a sip of his beer. "Geese, I know that you've been choosing your opponents for this whole tournament. There were several opponents you could have chosen in the Quarterfinals, and beaten them easily. Others, like Kyo and K', might have given you a run for your money, but in the end, you still would have stood a decent chance against them. Ash probably would have put up a good fight, and might even have beaten you. But you deliberately chose the one opponent even harder than Ash, the one that no other fighter so far has been able to touch. And you gave that fight everything you had, even though he outmatched you."

Krauser looked up from the chessboard, and took a sip of beer. "For once, I must agree with young Bogard. We may be rivals, but I will admit: unlike the harlot who cheated her way to victory against me in the third round, you fought with honor."

"Yeah, boss," Billy concurred. "You did awesome against that freak."

"I'd have chosen someone I knew I could beat," Big said.

"Same here," said Yamazaki. "Someone like Yuki. Course, the only downside there is his girlfriend wouldn't have been able to see me trash him."

Terry ignored the others, and went on: "I have to admit, I was a little annoyed when I learned that Chiz had to look to you to help fund this thing. But it's become clear to me now that you did it out of love. Despite everything else you've done in your life, King of Fighters is your baby, and you're truly proud of it. As well you should be." Terry extended his arm to Geese, then, beer bottle in hand. "For this tournament, I don't see my dad's killer. I just see a man who loves the fight, the thrill of facing an opponent, just like me. And I admire that."

"Awwww, and me without my violin!" Yamazaki said with an insane cackle.

"Cram it, psycho!" Billy growled. "Bogard is actually right. The boss should be proud of King of Fighters."

"Indeed," Big said as he puffed his Cuban. "It almost makes me regret trying to have Geese killed. Almost..."

Geese took on an odd look, then, as he studied his younger rival. But no... there was no trickery in those blue eyes. Terry still had his beer extended, and after another moment, Geese clinked his own bottle against it. "Thanks," he said.

Terry took another sip, and his expression softened. "And anyway, I've knocked you off the roof of your own headquarters so many times now, I'm sure I've made my dad proud. So I have nothing more to prove there."

Geese couldn't help but laugh at that, as he looked back to the board between him and Krauser. He was about to make another move when he heard the clatter of dice against a marble surface, followed by Yamazaki's cry of: "Seven again! How _do _I keep doing it?"

This was followed by shouts of protest from his fellow cohorts. "That's it!" Big snapped. "We're using new dice!"

"Ferget it!" Billy growled. "I'm done, anyway! I'll save the rest of my money fer a rainy day!" He sat back on the becnh and sipped his beer.

"Ah, where's your spirit of adventure?" Yamazaki said with his trademark high-pitched laugh.

Terry gave a chuckle, as well, and rose from the bench, beer in hand. "Well, I think I'll mosey along now. You all seem busy. Thanks for the beer." He tipped his cap at Geese, and then walked out of the statue enclosure back into the park proper.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Geese said over his shoulder. "Don't be late. You won't want to miss the festivities."

As Terry was walking away, he heard Krauser say, "check." This was followed by a string of curses from Geese. Terry laughed again, venturing deeper into the park. _This day just gets more and more interesting_, he thought as he took another sip of his beer.

* * *

**Nearby...**

Smells. The air was charged with them. Ever since daddy had told him to go exploring, his nose had been working overtime, sniffing the air one moment, pressed against the ground the next. Just as on all the other days when he'd been commanded to explore, he was assailed from all sides by a myriad of scents. Boiling water, garlic and tomatoes, basil, fresh fish, lamb meat, calf meat, bird meat, supple leather, expensive cologne, horse manure, perspiration, smoke... this city was truly alive.

However, being a dog, Anton was a simple creature with simple pleasures. Regardless of everything he smelled, the question always at the front of his mind was: whatever he smelled, could he eat it?

He'd been trying. He'd gone to the back doors of several restaurants, and sat there, tail wagging, licking his chops in anticipation. Even though there had been one exception, when that rotund, moustachioed man in the red button-down shirt and black vest had served him a plate of spaghetti and meatballs, for the most part, the cooks would tell him to get lost. Or they would just give him a bowl of water. Which Anton was still grateful for, since it was hot.

Even though he'd eaten very well earlier off his dad's plate, he was of course still hungry. Because a dog is never full. Now he was walking through what appeared to be a park, his nose pressed to the grass, drinking in the myriad scents of nature, and people, and city life.

He looked up from sniffing for a moment, his puppy eyes taking in a monochrome view of the world. Mostly he was looking around at the other people in the park, seeing if anyone took notice of him. Even though he had a license attached to his collar with all of his mommy's information on it, he knew that it someone _were _to take notice of him walking around without one of his parents, he'd be taken to a room and put in a cage until mommy or daddy came to get him.

Sure enough, a middle-aged man sitting on a bench noticed Anton trotting past, got up from his seat, and started to make his way over to the floppy-eared dog. "Hey, boy," he said, approaching slowly, holding his hand out in front of him, level with Anton's nose. "You alone? Where's your owner? I see you've got a collar, let's have a look at it."

This was all said in Italian, but even then, what Anton heard was: _Brah, boy. Brahbrahbrah brah brah... brah... brahbrah collar brahbrahbrahbrah. _The pooch was able to glean the meaning easily enough. Before the man could get close enough to grab his collar, Anton turned and bounded off across the grass, taking huge strides on his paws, leaving the man far behind.

When he felt he'd gotten a safe distance away, Anton slowed down and resumed sniffing. He was in an area where the soft grass beneath his paws met with rougher cobblestones warmed by the sun, one of the footpaths made by humans through the natural setting. The path led to some sort of square, where he saw stone walls surrounding some sort of very tall human who appeared to be standing still and not breathing.

Anton raised his long muzzle and sniffed the air in that direction. He caught several scents: his dad, but also the scent of the bad man, the one who had hurt both his parents, and that other human... the one with the stick who always hung around the bad man, and who mommy had worked with before. The scent of that crazy human was in the air as well, the other one that mommy had worked with, the one always tinged around the edges with a smell that seemed not human...

For a moment, Anton wondered if daddy needed help, but then he heard laughter coming from over the wall... and a moment later, an oversized wooden stick was thrown into the air, landing with a clatter on the cobbled ground.

Anton's thoughts immediately gravitated towards "stick." But at the same time, he couldn't help but think that his dad was in danger. He stepped out from the grass onto the warm stones, and moved closer to both the wall, and the large stick. He paused in his advance, sniffed the air again. His daddy was still there, and talking to the bad man, but Anton could smell no ill intentions whatsoever. Meaning he was free to focus on the bounty before him.

Stepping forward much faster now, Anton closed the distance between himself and Geese Howard's old walking stick, then snapped it up in his jaws, turned and started off to find a secluded place in the park to bury it.

* * *

ADDITIONAL NOTES

So, for those of you who don't know the rules of chess, whoever has the white pieces moves first. I wouldn't say it's a handicap, but Krauser would probably say it is. ( ;

Also, dogs are colorblind. Hence Anton's view of the world.

And that does it for this chapter. To be honest, I don't think it's my best, but I wanted to get it out so I could focus on the the last few chapters, which I'm more excited about. Hopefully those won't take me as long to get out. As always, I hope you liked...


	6. Chapter 6

This has been the longest chapter so far. Which I think is fitting because this fic is almost done, due to me running out of ideas. So I'll take this moment to mention JojoDO's fanfic "Dusk After Kumite: King of Fighters Twilight Tournament," a sequel to the fanfic that inspired "Lazy Saturday." It's shaping up to be a bit darker than the first one, but it's still a great story, so you should definitely check it out. Like the first fic, it is a true labor of love, and a love letter to SNK's fighting game history.

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them or the video games

* * *

_Chapter Six: How Not to Pick Up Men_

The lazy day continued to drift by. Afternoon eventually turned into early evening, and some fighters who had not yet had their fill of Milan continued to do the tourist thing, while others who had grown weary of exploring started to seek out their hotel.

In the hotel restaurant, a group of young women were gathered around one of the larger tables towards the back. Though they came from different countries, different backgrounds, different styles and schools of fighting, they had one crucial thing in common: they were all current or former members of one of King of Fighters' most iconic and inspirational teams, originally founded because some ignorant asses tried to tell them "no," based on the fact that they were women. Though they had yet to win a tournament, the determination and undeniable skill they'd shown time and again had earned them the respect of several of their fighting peers.

King, Yuri Sakazaki, Mai Shiranui, Li Xiangfei, and Kasumi Todoh were all waiting for their fellow Women Fighters' Team alumnus, Chizuru Kagura. Earlier, the priestess had sent them all a text. For the first time all week, she had a reprieve of the burdens of running the Kumite, and zero fires to put out, so Chizuru suggested they all get together for a reunion drink.

Needless to say, everyone loved the idea. Even Kasumi was willing to share a table with the sister of her rival for a chance to catch up with King and Mai. However, it was difficult for a group like this to ever get a true day off, since they were so easily recognizable_._ They'd chosen a table near the back on purpose, but they hadn't even gotten a chance to order drinks before they were surrounded by a small crowd of of restaurant patrons who were also guests at the hotel, and had come to town for the Kumite.

Of course, the women were happy to give autographs. It helped that less than half the people in the crowd were horny single men (most of _those_ had gotten their autographs already), while a majority were martial arts aficionados, and young girls aged twelve to eighteen, who looked to the Women's Team as a source of inspiration.

Yuri was busy signing a photograph for one of the latter. The karate girl had been handed a glossy of the team in their original, founding lineup. Mai and King had already signed their names over their respective images, and Yuri was now completing the set.

"Nice headband," Yuri said to the picture's owner, a girl in her early teens who wore a red headband identical to Yuri's own. "Makes me sorry I left mine in my room. Do you study anything?"

The girl blushed slightly, not expecting that when she woke up this morning, one of her idols would be asking her questions. "Um, yes, Ms. Sakazaki. I... have a green belt in karate."

"It's Yuri," the Kyokugen heiress said with a laugh as she handed the signed photo back. "And that's awesome! Be sure to keep practicing! Maybe someday, we'll face each other at one of these! And if that happens, you'd better not go easy on me."

The girl blushed a little more as she accepted the picture and clutched it to her chest. "Um... don't worry... um, Yuri. I won't. And... thank you."

"My pleasure," Yuri told her. "Remember: play in the dirt, get into trouble, and never let boys tell you what to do!"

"I like this photo," Xiangfei said with a laugh as she signed a glossy of herself seated at a table in front of a stack of bamboo steamers that reached over her head, each one full of stuffed bao buns, while the kung-fu girl held a pair of chopsticks at the ready. "It really captures me."

"I... saw your eating contest earlier today," said the man who'd handed her the photo. "You were great!"

"Well, it's not whether you win or lose," Xiangfei told him as she handed back the signed photo. "In the end, it's about getting enough to eat."

"Oh, my God!" Mai gaped at the photo that had just been handed to her. She was used to men asking her to sign photos of her dressed in her iconic red sleeveless (and sometimes sideless or backless) uwagi that she usually wore at King of Fighters. But the picture she was looking at now... was truly vintage, a photo of Mai in an outfit she'd only worn to the tournament once, the year she entered to help Andy gather information on the Jin Twins and Geese Howard. The outfit was a bit more conservative than Mai's normal costumes, combining aspects of her trademark shameless garb with that of an elegant kimono, but it still showed off more than enough leg and cleavage. Her footwear was also different, similar to the tabi socks she usually wore, but with the heels and toes left open.

"I almost forgot I wore this once!" Mai said with a laugh. "Where did you _find _this picture?"

"Trade secrets," the man said, and tapped his nose.

Mai laughed louder. "Well, you're obviously a real fan! That deserves something extra!" So saying, the ninja girl planted a kiss on the upper left corner of the photo, leaving a ruby-red imprint of her lipstick on its glossy surface. She then took a silver marker and wrote underneath that: _THANKS FOR BEING A TRUE FAN. NIPPON ICHI! XOXO, SHIRANUI-MAI. _When she handed it back to him, the blood rushed to his head so fast that he almost fainted.

"What's your name, kid?" King asked the girl who had just handed her a photo of her in her white tuxedo jacket, from when she and Mai had entered the tournament with Chizuru.

"Um... Sally," the girl answered rather nervously.

"Ah, I have a waitress with the same name." King started to sign the photo with a metallic silver marker. "Ever been to my bar?"

"Um... no, Miss King. I'm not old enough."

The blonde kickboxer laughed as she finished signing her name. "Please, it's just 'King.' Well, pay me a visit when you turn twenty-one. If you show me this picture, I'll mix you your first drink for free. And you'll get to see my non-fighting skills."

Sally laughed with her as she took the picture back. "Thank you, King!"

The only one who seemed a little uncomfortable was Kasumi, who didn't enjoy being in the spotlight as much as the others. Though she signed photos or posters or whatever else was put in front of her, she wasn't getting as much attention as the other women, but she looked like she preferred it that way.

Finally, the crowds had been placated, and the girls were able to check their phones, as the tournament's hostess had not yet arrived. "Chiz said that she got delayed putting out a fire not related to the tournament," King told the others.

"She told me the same thing," Yuri said.

"Guess we all got the same message, then," said Xiangfei. "Looks like she also said to go ahead and not wait for her to place our drink orders."

So the women all did, and Xiangfei also placed an order for some food. By the time the drinks arrived, Chizuru Kagura could be spotted making her way towards their table. "Sorry I'm late, ladies," the raven-haired priestess said with a sigh of relief as she sat down. "Got stuck on a conference call with the Singapore office, helping them through a crisis. I may have to consider new management there if they can't even handle things for one week in my absence. But enough shop talk." She then looked around at their drinks – Yuri's cosmo, King's glass of pinot noir, Mai and Kasumi's cups of warm sake, Xiangfei's glass of dry white – and gave a nod of satisfaction. "I'm glad you didn't wait for me."

"We did tell the waiter you were coming," said Yuri. "And asked him to bring you a Japanese Slipper when you got here."

Chizuru allowed herself a genuine smile, then, the first one she'd had since the end of Round One, when the group photo was taken. "Thanks, girls. And I just want you to know that I spoke to the maitre'd. He's gonna run interference for the next hour or two, so we can just enjoy ourselves without any heckling from fans."

As much as most of them enjoyed signing autographs, everyone at the table was still grateful for a reprieve. When Chizuru's drink was brought to her, she lifted it and said: "A toast to Team Women Fighters, and this reunion of members past and present. And a toast to those who should be here but can't."

"Hear, hear," the other ladies all echoed, and sipped their drinks. Mai set her cup down and refilled it from the bottle, making sure a small amount overflowed onto the tabletop (for good luck). "Speaking of those not here, did anyone hear from Hinako-chan?" She then asked the others.

"She texted me right before the first round started," Xiangfei said. "She was too busy with school to come to the tournament, but she said she'd be watching and wished us all success."

"That was nice of her," said Mai.

"I did ask Duck to forward her a copy of the photo he took," Chizuru said.

"So, that just leaves Mary as the only other absent party," King pointed out. "But at least we can take comfort in the fact that she's probably having fun."

"Unless Heidern is still briefing them," Mai said. "She hates all that boring talky-planny stuff, she'd rather just get out there and start hitting people."

"We have that in common," Kasumi noted.

"That makes me wonder how you can sit through all those business meetings, Chiz," Yuri told their friend.

Chizuru laughed and tucked a few strands of black hair behind her ear. "You learn to filter out anything that's not important."

"How do you know what is and isn't important?" Xiangfei asked.

Chizuru gave a small shrug. "I'd say about ninety percent of the stuff that comes out of peoples' mouths at meetings isn't important."

Her response got a laugh from everyone at the table. "I don't think anyone of us here could do what you do, Kagura-san," Kasumi said as she raised her cup at the other woman.

"Yeah, probably not," said Chizuru, her expression becoming a bit more serious for a moment.

Kasumi grew a little red-faced after seeing the change in expression. "I mean... I wasn't talking about Orochi or the Yata Mirror... just, you know, running a company."

The look on the priestess's face quickly softened again. "Relax, Kasumi, I know what you meant. Just having a little fun."

Right after she said that, the waiter brought out Xiangfei's food order: a platter of linguini tossed in a sauce made from white wine and fresh clams. Despite everything else she'd put away that day, the kung-fu girl picked up her utensils and started in on the dish with gusto.

"I can't believe you're still hungry," Chizuru told her, having helped Athena's manager organize the pasta eating contest earlier. "Seventeen plates of spaghetti bolognese, and two pieces of cake..."

"Three," Xiangfei corrected. "After I had those two slices of tiramisu, I tried some millefoglie. Because it was on my list of foods to try in Italy, and I hadn't had any yet. Same with this dish. Which is why I ordered it."

"How do you _do _it, girl?" Mai asked. "I'm still digesting the lunch Andy and I had when we were out earlier."

"Same here," said Yuri.

"Likewise," King chimed in.

"Trade secrets," Xiangfei said with a wink, right before she raised another loaded forkful to her mouth.

Chizuru laughed again. She'd been under a lot of stress this week, considering that all she'd wanted to do was to host a friendly tournament, and still, everything that could have gone wrong had. But now they knew the source of the problem, and as the women sat there, it was being dealt with. So she felt pretty good at the moment. She raised her drink again. "I'd like to propose another toast. To the Kumite. Even though I couldn't compete, I've thoroughly enjoyed watching all of you do so, and cheering your triumphs. And defeats. Even in defeat, you all put in great effort."

Once more, the women all clinked their drinks together. "I don't even care that I lost the tournament," said King. "I got to prove something. That was more important than money."

"Your Round One fight was Geese's idea, something he said he'd always wanted to see," Chiz admitted. "I went along with it, not just because Geese was calling the shots in that department, but also because I felt you needed it. Even when it looked like Big was winning, deep down I had faith that you'd find a way to turn the tables. And you did." A smile spread across her ruby-red lips as she raised her drink at King.

King raised her own glass back. "Well, thanks for giving me that moment."

"Geese and I merely set the stage. You gave yourself that moment."

"Is that why you paired me and Sokaku?" Mai asked.

"Yeah, same reason," Chiz answered.

"Well, thanks," said Mai. "Because I loved mopping the floor with that loser."

"Don't know if I mentioned this," Chiz told her. "But I heard that as soon as he woke up in the hospital, he discharged himself against medical advice and went straight to the airport."

"Even with a broken nose?" Mai said with a laugh. "Moron..."

"So I assume my match with Ryo was another of Geese's ideas?" Kasumi asked their hostess.

"It was," Chiz answered. "And like I said, you put up a great fight against him."

"Yeah, I was watching on TV from my hospital room," Yuri told her. "You did awesome!"

"Wasn't good enough, though," Kasumi said with a shake of her head.

"But you still fought with honor," Yuri insisted.

"And you stood your ground against the next generation of Mr. Karate," Xiangfei added. "That's pretty badass."

"They're right," Chizuru told the Aikido disciple. "Wherever your dad is, if he was watching the tournament on TV, I know he was proud of you."

Kasumi blushed a little at that, but otherwise said nothing. After a few moments of silence, Yuri raised her drink in the other girl's direction. "Okay, truth time: out of all the people who have grudges against my family, school, or both, I like you the most. I always have. I'll admit, I was skeptical when King told me that she and Mai were enlisting you as the third member of the Women Fighters Team, after I was all but forced to leave it and team up with my family. But the three of us are pretty tight, so I trusted their judgment. And they were right. Not only do you have skills, but you're a genuinely good person. Why else do you think I personally asked you to team up with them again a few tournaments after that?"

"That's true," said Mai. "We don't ask just anyone to join this team."

"I know _that _from experience," said Xiangfei.

"Chiz was the only exception," said King. "She actually came to _us, _and made me and Mai an offer we couldn't refuse."

The treasure keeper couldn't help but laugh at that. "You make it sound so sinister."

"Well, you _did _have ulterior motives..." Mai said with a wink.

"To save the world," Chiz insisted. "Plus, don't forget that I handled all the travel expenses."

"That _definitely _helped soften the blow," King admitted. "I mean, we flew first class to all the venues, and you flew Jean out in the same fashion so he could watch us fight. So it's all water under the bridge."

"Same here," Mai added, and the three women clinked their glasses together.

"So, my point is," Yuri went on, turning back to Kasumi. "It doesn't matter what sort of history our families have, you deserve to call yourself a member of the Women Fighters Team. And... I consider you a friend. Unlike Malin and the Kisaragi clan, you actually know how to have a good time."

Kasumi relented and clinked her cup against Yuri's glass. "Thanks, Yuri. And... you're right about your other rivals. They were good teammates when it came to fighting, just... kind of boring otherwise. When I teamed up with them for the tournament, they knew what they were doing inside the ring, but outside... destroying your family and your school was all they'd ever talk about. Like, they just didn't stop. I swear, they talked about it in their sleep. I mean, it's nice to have a cause, but you also need hobbies. Otherwise, you don't have any life at all. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if Kisaragi-san was watching you right now."

Upon hearing that, both Chiz and Mai took out their compacts, and under the guise of checking their makeup, used the mirrors to scan the restaurant. After a moment, the priestess lined her mirror up with an object behind her and studied the glassy surface. "There he is," she said.

Mai focused her own mirror in the same direction. "Yup, I see him too."

Both women closed their compacts and put them away, after which Chiz whispered to Yuri: "Your eleven-o'clock. The decorative plant."

The karate girl nodded, and took a bread roll from the basket in front of Xiangfei. She raised it to her mouth as if she was going to tear off a piece, but then suddenly pitched it as hard she could over Chiz's head towards a tall, decorative plant against the wall behind them.

It bounced off something (or rather someone) nestled in between the thick stems, and a moment later, a familiar purple-clad ninja emerged from behind the plant, rubbing his forehead. Chizuru turned in her chair to face him. "Good evening, Kisaragi-san," she spoke cordially, but with just a hint of ice at the edges of her voice. "Your devotion to your cause is admirable if misguided, but as you can plainly see, Yuri-chan is just sitting here having a drink with old friends. No one is plotting anything at the moment."

"Well, now that you _mention _it," Yuri added sarcastically. "I was thinking about sneaking into your room and placing a Whoopie cushion in... mmmf!" Anything further she was going to say was cut off by King putting a hand over her mouth.

"So perhaps you can find something else to do?" Chizuru went on to say.

"Yeah, can you please just take a break for a few hours, Kisaragi-san?" Kasumi chided her former teammate.

By now, Eiji Kisaragi had composed himself somewhat, and glanced over the faces at the table. He then bowed respectfully to Chizuru. "Perhaps I should. Good day, Kagura-san. Todoh-san." He straightened himself up and departed the restaurant quickly.

After he was gone, Chiz turned to Yuri and flashed her a reproachful smile. "Whoopie cushion? Really? I was trying to _help _you."

"Sorry," said Yuri, with the air of being anything but. "I just... feel really good right now."

Chizuru wanted to say something else, but in the end, she simply started laughing, which got the rest of the table to laugh, as well. Finally, when it was out of their system, Chizuru took a sip of her drink to try and compose herself. "That's totally understandable. After the way this week has gone, I feel pretty good myself at the moment. Just be sure not to drink too much tonight. I want all you ladies to be in peak form at the Coliseum tomorrow."

The other girls all exchanged confused glances. "Um... why?" King asked. "Tomorrow is the finals, and at this point, we're all out of the game."

Chizuru gave a small shrug, and a toss of her long raven hair. "That's for me to know and you to find out." The others at the table still looked confused, so Chiz decided to change the subject: "So, how have you all been spending the day? Done anything fun?"

"Well, you know _I _have," Xiangfei said around a mouthful of pasta with clam sauce. "That was actually the best contest I've had in a while. In some ways, it was more fun than my tournament bout. Um, no offense, Yuri."

"None taken," the karate girl said with a shrug. "I just wish I'd known the contest was happening, because then I'd have definitely checked it out to root you on."

"Kensou put up a great fight," said Xiangfei. "I wouldn't mind rematching him someday. With a bit more focus, he stands a great chance of winning."

"I checked out the National Da Vinci Museum," Kasumi said. "I liked it, but I was a little annoyed. I feel I've gotten a good enough grasp of English at this point, but I've never bothered to study Italian. So it's been hard for me to communicate during the day."

"Don't worry, girl," said Mai. "We've had the same problem. Though probably not as bad as you. Me, King and Yuri were out with our men for most of the day, but at least we had Robert with us, and he actually _does_ know Italian."

"Where did you go?" Chiz asked them.

"For the most part, Robbie just took us on a walking tour of the city," said Yuri. "Pointing out things he remembered from when he would holiday with his parents here as a kid. And then we went to that shopping mall that looked like it was from the Renaissance, and bought some souvenirs. We also had an awesome lunch that nearly put me in a coma."

"I hear that," said King. "I felt like one of those giant rainforest snakes after it's eaten a whole cow."

"Which is why we all came back here afterwards for a siesta," Yuri finished. "According to Robbie, it's only a real Italian lunch if you need a nap afterwards."

"So am I the only one who didn't get much sleep?" Mai said with a giggle. "After our shopping excursion, I had a lot of new clothes to model for Andy."

"How many of those things could actually be considered 'clothes'?" Xiangfei asked, which got a laugh from the rest of the table. Even though she hadn't gone with them on their shopping trip, she had a very good idea about what types of garments Mai probably bought.

"I didn't get much sleep either," said King. "But I won't say anymore out loud, since I don't think Yuri wants to hear."

"Nope, not really," Yuri affirmed. So King whispered into Mai's ear about the "service" Ryo had given her when they'd gotten back to their room, which was so good that King had returned the favor.

After King was finished, Mai giggled again and sipped her drink. "Well, I'm glad to hear you and Ryo are finding ways to work around your injury," said Mai.

"Robbie and I slept first," Yuri said, ignoring Mai's talk about her brother. "I just... couldn't muster the energy right away. Not after that meal."

"Well, Andy was definitely asleep when I left him to come down here," said Mai. "I wore him out. I might order some food to go when it's time to go back to the room, so he can... recharge his battery, so to speak."

"You know, sometimes I envy you girls." Chizuru said almost wistfully as she swirled her drink. "You've all found someone who makes you happy. Few things in this world are more precious than finding your soul-mate."

"Well, really just those three have found it," said Kasumi, indicating the team's founding members. "Boys aren't a priority for me right now. I've had a few cute classmates ask me out, but I'm more interested in my studies right now, both in the classroom and my training." She sighed and sipped her drink. "But I _am_ the sole heir of my family's martial arts style, so my Oka-chan is always trying to get marriage contracts drawn up every time a cute boy so much as glances at me."

"I can definitely relate to one of your parents trying to plan your life and auction you off as soon as you're of age," said Yuri. "Well, of age by Japanese standards, anyway." The karate girl shuddered and sipped her own drink.

"Boys aren't a priority for me, either," said Xiangfei. "My family's restaurant keeps me pretty busy."

Mai giggled at her friend. "Well, a restaurant _is _a good way to meet guys. I'm sure they come through the door all the time. Quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"You're right," said Xiangfei. "But, like Kasumi, I'm too focused on finishing school right now. And learning as much as I can about the business so I can take on more responsibilities after I graduate, and give my parents and Uncle Pai a break. They deserve one." She paused for a moment, then, and she dredged a piece of bread through the gravy left on her plate. "Though honestly... I thought Kensou was interesting in a good way. It's not often I meet a guy who can match me in terms of eating, and... he _was_ kinda handsome. And he's Chinese, which would make my parents happy."

"Problem there is, Athena will always be his one and only," King pointed out. "He's got blinders for every other woman."

"You got that right," Xiangfei said with a nod. "Well, when I'm ready, I'm sure there's plenty of other cute Chinese bottomless pits out there." She'd dredged up the last of the sauce on her plate, and shortly after that, a waiter stepped out of the background to take it away. "Can you bring me another dish?" The kung-fu girl asked him. "This time I'd like the pesto and sundried tomatoes, please."

"Si, signora," the waiter said with a nod and started off towards the kitchen.

The other girls at the table shook their heads in admiration. "Amazing..." Chizuru said what they all were thinking.

"So, Chiz," Mai asked their friend. "What's _your _love life like these days? You were pretty quiet earlier, but I'll bet someone like you has to fend the guys off with a stick."

The priestess gave a small shrug. "Not really. In fact, I don't think I've ever been on a date."

This was met by disbelief from everyone else at the table. Mai, Yuri, and Kasumi, who were in the process of sipping their drinks, all did spit-takes. "You... you're kidding, right?" Yuri asked cautiously, after having recovered her voice before the others.

"Why would I?" Chizuru's tone suggested that she didn't understand why that question was even being asked.

Mai looked like she was having an even harder time comprehending. "Really? Never? How is that possible?"

Chiz took a sip of her Slipper. "I just... never cared."

"Do you... not like boys?" Kasumi asked her cautiously. "I mean, it's... okay if you don't. Papa-san always said that was wrong, but... he never really said why. So... I could accept it."

Chizuru couldn't help but laugh at that. "No, Kasumi, I'm not a lesbian. I was always just too focused on my responsibilities, both with keeping Orochi sealed, and... my family's company. Maki was focused on these, too, but... she was also the one who was more concerned with carrying on the family bloodline." Her face became thoughtful, then, as she swirled her drink. "Though, I guess... the responsibility _has _passed to me now. The Kagura clan _will _need an heir someday, someone who can assume my role as the keeper of the Yata mirror."

King's gaze happened to move from Chizuru over to Mai, and the kickboxer noticed the smile creeping over the kunoichi's face, recognized the light of mischief in those large brown eyes. "Uh oh, she's getting that look again..." King told the rest of the table.

Yuri glanced over and saw it, as well. "What scheme are you hatching _now,_ Mai?"

Mai took on a wounded look as she pulled one of her signature weapons out from inside her blouse and started to fan herself. "Whatever do you mean, Yuri? This is no scheme. This is humanitarian aid! A chance for us humble ladies to help save the world!"

"How do you figure _that?_" King asked.

"We teach Chiz how to talk to guys," Mai explained. "Helping her to someday find a guy, get married and have babies who will grow up to help keep Orochi sealed! Everybody wins!"

Chizuru paused in the action of swirling her drink, and was blushing a little now. "Mai... don't you think you're getting a little too far ahead of yourself?"

"Maybe I am," Mai conceded that much. "But you _do _need to start somewhere. And I refuse to believe that a smart, talented, drop-dead gorgeous girl such as yourself has never even _talked _to a man. I just can't accept that. So at least let us help you give _that _a try. We're in the perfect place. There's lots of fighting fans in this hotel!"

"Which puts me in the same position as someone like Athena," Chiz argued. "How do I know the guy I'm talking to is actually interested in _me_, or just my family's wealth and my status?"

Mai thought about that for a moment. "Well... it is still a hotel bar. I'm sure there are customers here who aren't in town for the tournament. We're all pretty good at sizing people up, so I'm sure we can find some good prospects for you to talk to, people who don't know you."

Yuri now looked thoughtful, as well. She was normally wary when Mai hatched one of her half-baked schemes, but this was one of those rare moments when the kunoichi had actually put logical thought into it. "This could work, I think. I mean, it's not like she's asking you to give the dude your phone number or go on a date. Just talk to them. Right, Mai?"

For a moment, the ninja girl acted like she'd only half-heard the question. Then, she felt a small kick under the table from Yuri. "What? Oh, yeah, of course. Just talk. Only ask him out if you really _want _to."

"It's your call, Chiz," King told their former teammate.

For a moment, the priestess looked up at the ceiling, one well-manicured finger tapping against her chin. Then she shrugged and took another sip of her drink. "There are much worse circumstances I could be doing this under... yeah, why not? I'm always pestering Iori to expand his horizons. At the very least, I might learn something."

"Great!" Mai sai with a giggle, and drained the rest of the sake in her cup. "First, we need to go to the ladies room."

Chizuru's brow crinkled slightly. "Um... what for?"

"Just a little prep work," Mai explained. "Yuri, can you give me a hand?"

"You got it!" The karate girl gulped the last of her own drink and got up from the table. Chizuru was starting to look like she was having second thoughts, so Yuri laughed and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We won't do anything _too _drastic. Mai can be a little... overzealous when it comes to romance, but she does know what she's doing when it comes to makeovers. I mean... you saw that picture of me that I sent you before Robbie took me out to dinner on our anniversary? That was _her _work."

"And it's not a complete makeover," Mai assured her. "You've already got a great package put together. There's not much I'd change. Only a few... very minor tweaks here and there."

"I'll wait out here," said Xiangfei. "I've got more pasta coming, and besides, I don't have as much experience as those of you with boyfriends."

"I'll stay with her," Kasumi told the others. "For the same reason. Plus, I can try to spot some prospective people for her to talk to."

"I'll help you," King said. "When you spend all day serving alcohol to people, you learn to recognize certain types."

Everyone seemed to have their role in this "plan," so it was only with a small amount of reluctance that Chizuru allowed Yuri and Mai to lead her towards the restrooms.

* * *

Once they were in the Ladies Room, Mai checked the stalls, and when she was satisfied they were alone, she locked the door leading in. When Chizuru heard the click of the deadbolt, and saw both girls turn towards her, the priestess started to silently recite one of her calming mantras, but she couldn't stop a few small beads of sweat from forming on her brow.

"Relax, Chiz," Yuri told her. "We'll need to re-apply your foundation if you start sweating." The karate girl took one of Chizuru's hands in both of hers and gave it a gentle pat.

Mai giggled and did the same with Chiz's other hand. "And like I said, we're not gonna do much. Your make-up is pretty much perfect already. Only one small change I think we should make. Yuri?"

"Right." Yuri reached into Mai's purse, and pulled out a small bottle of remover, a cotton pad, an eyeshadow brush, and Mai's compact.

"What... are you gonna do?" Chiz asked apprehensively. She trusted both of these women with her life, but still, this wasn't a fight they were about to enter. It was completely new territory for the priestess. At least she could say that fighting an opponent was simple.

Mai took the bottle of remover from Yuri and applied a small amount to the pad. "We're just gonna pick out a new eyeshadow for you. That shade you have on is all wrong for your natural eye color."

"Trust us on this," Yuri said. She had opened the compact and started to inspect the different tints of eye shadow closely, like a jeweler studying a diamond through a loupe magnifier. "Back when me and Mai first met, she helped me with this same thing. If we find the right shade, it's gonna make your eyes leap out at whoever you're talking to."

"That... seems like a violent image," Chiz said with a nervous laugh. "Do I _want _my eyes to jump out?"

Mai giggled. "Don't worry, girl, you'll feel ten times more confident after this. Now close your eyes."

Chizuru did as asked, and while Mai began gently cleaning off her eyelids, Yuri continued her inspection of the base colors and highlights. A few minutes later, Mai had finished with the right eye, and Yuri seemed to have made a choice. She held the compact out to Mai and pointed to one of the shades that looked promising. "This one, I think," she said.

Mai paused in her work and inspected her friend's offering. Then she flashed Yuri a broad smile. "Very good! The student has become the master!"

"Can I see?" Chizuru asked them.

"Nope!" Yuri told her. "Wait until we're finished."

After the eyeshadow had been reapplied, Chiz looked at herself in the mirror over the sink, and had to admit that her eyes looked more vibrant than they had when she'd last checked her reflection right before coming down to the restaurant. Yuri and Mai stepped up on either side of her, admiring their handiwork. "Almost ready," Mai said with a satisfactory nod. "But first... we gotta do something about this shirt. It's too stuffy."

Chiz looked down at her button-down white jacket with the wide sleeves, one of her favorites and typically the only thing she ever wore. "Too... stuffy?"

"Well, yeah," Mai went on. "It'll be easier to talk to a guy if they think you're looking for fun. So we need to make this look less formal."

"And how do we do tha... aaah!" Before Chiz could finish that sentence, Mai's hands had quickly undone the top three buttons on her jacket, just enough to show off some of her cleavage. The priestess blushed a little now as she looked at her reflection. "Um... are you _sure _this is a good idea?"

Yuri rolled her eyes and pointed over at the buxom ninja girl. "Don't look at me. _She's _the boob expert."

"That's right, I am!" Mai said proudly. "And as the boob expert, I can tell you it's _never _a good idea to keep the girls locked up!" She glanced down at her own blouse, which also had the top three buttons open, showing not as much cleavage or top boob as she would be if she were in her ninja costume, but still providing a healthy view. "It's the best way to relax both yourself, and it sends a fun, flirty message to the guy you're talking to."

Chiz now stared once more with uncertainty at her reflection. She was unaccustomed to seeing herself in anything that showed any display of boob, or the space between, and definitely didn't agree with Mai's statement, since the logical center of her brain told her that sometimes it _was _a good idea to keep the girls locked up. Mai, meanwhile, continued her scrutiny of Chizuru's jacket. "Hmmm, if only there were some way we could tighten the back in order to push her boobs up a little bit. I _do _have some sewing gear in my purse."

"Forget it, Mai," Yuri chided her. "That would take way too long."

"Yeah," Chiz quickly agreed with the karate girl. "Let's not go that far."

"Okay," Mai said with a loud sigh. "But we should still roll up the sleeves. Yuri?"

"Definitely," Yuri said. "That would look less formal."

A short time later, the sleeves of Chizuru Kagura's jacket had been rolled up to just below her elbows, her hairband had been removed and her long, shimmering raven hair had been pulled back into a ponytail (for some reason, Mai and Yuri seemed to think that giving a man a clear view of a woman's neck would pique their interest in her), and the priestess looked at herself in the mirror, still not certain what to think. She liked some of her friends' choices, but was questioning others.

"So... you're sure this will help me?" Chiz asked the other two.

"Just be glad I was here," Yuri said. "I usually have to wind up being the 'good cop' and help Mai keep both feet on the ground when she gets these crazy ideas."

Once more, Chizuru recited a calming mantra in her mind. "That's very reassuring," she grumbled.

"Hey, I was in control the whole time!" Mai said indignantly. She then studied the face of her old teammate in the mirror, and after thinking for a minute, pulled a fan out from inside her ample cleavage, and offered it to Chizuru. "Wanna borrow this?" She asked. "It'll add just the right touch of class to this informal thing we've got going on!"

"Um, that's okay!" Chiz said quickly, hesitant to accept anything that Mai had been keeping between her boobs. "I think I'm good!"

Mai nodded, and tucked the fan back into its hiding place. "Okay, then! Let's go get you to talk to a man!"

* * *

When Yuri, Chizuru, and Mai got back to the table, they saw that the other three had ordered a fresh round in their absence, and Xiangfei had finished her second pasta plate and ordered a new dish: veal cotoletta served over polenta, the same thing Joe Higashi had ordered earlier that day for lunch.

"Wow, the damage isn't that bad," King said when she saw Chizuru's new look. "You actually kept Mai reined in this time, Yuri." The bartender raised her wineglass at the karate girl.

"Wait, what does that mean?" Chizuru asked her old teammate.

"You don't wanna know," King said, and sipped her wine.

Chiz became visibly nervous again at hearing that, and took a large sip from her fresh Slipper. "M-maybe this isn't such a good idea," she managed to say.

"Oh, I was only giving Mai a hard time," King chided her. "You really look great, Chiz!"

"If I were a guy, I'd definitely want to talk to you!" Xiangfei encouraged her.

"You... look very nice, Kagura-san," Kasumi tried to offer her own encouragement.

"And between me and Kasumi, we've spotted a few prospective males over at the bar," King told them, and pointed the unsuspecting victims out to Yuri and Mai.

"Yeah, those guys look good," Yuri said. "I think most of them are either passing through, or they're here for reasons other than the tournament."

"Okay, Chiz," Mai said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "It's go time. Most important rule: don't panic. You've got this. You've faced far worse in the history of King of Fighters."

"Are you sure about that?" Chizuru asked, blushing just a little.

"So, what you wanna do to start," said Yuri, "is to ask if the seat next to them is taken. If they say no, you're golden. If they say yes, then just abort and move onto the next target."

Mai picked up from there. "And then just play things by ear. Some good questions to ask are if they're local, and if not, what are they in town for? From there, try to find common ground. Ask them what they do, if they have any interests. See if you notice anything on their person that might help you with that."

King, having witnessed a lot of colorful bar conversations in her career, had some more interesting advice: "Just be sure to get a good look at their hands without letting them know that you're doing it. If you see a ring, that's another good reason to abort."

"Um... okay," Chizuru said with a little uncertainty. "Well... no sense in putting it off any longer." So saying, she picked up her drink and started towards the first of the "targets" that King and Kasumi had selected.

"This is gonna be great!" Mai said to the rest of the girls still at their table. "I just know she's gonna rock this!"

King shook her head and took another sip of her wine. "I think she's dead in the water."

"I'm... inclined to agree," Kasumi said.

"She can deal with Kyo and Iori's BS," Yuri pointed out. "I think she's got a chance. Let's just wait and see..."

* * *

"This seat taken?"

The man sitting at the bar, dressed in a red button-down shirt and jeans with curly brown hair, turned his head slightly and smiled when he saw the pretty, dark-haired girl standing there with a drink in hand. "Not at all," he said with a shake of his head, speaking English with a slight accent. "Feel free to sit."

Chizuru took a deep breath and sat down at the stool next to the man, placing her drink on a nearby beer mat. There was a moment of silence, as the priestess tried to recall what her friends had told her. During that moment, the man next to her seemed uncertain himself as to what he should say next, then he finally ventured: "You have nice eyes."

"Oh, thanks," Chiz said with a nervous laugh. "My friends were trying to make them jump out of my head earlier. I... don't know if they succeeded."

"Um... obviously not," the man said, his brow furrowed in confusion. After another uncertain moment, he extended his hand. "I'm... Phillipe."

"Chizuru," the dark-haired woman said, as she shook the offered hand, though her grip wasn't very sure. Then she remembered what Mai had told her, and asked: "So, are you local, and if not, what are you in town for?"

After blurting that out, Chiz was about to start berating herself internally for that run-on sentence, but fortunately, Phillipe just laughed. "I'm in town for a visit. My twin sister lives here with her husband and their two kids."

Upon hearing that, Chizuru's spirits boosted slightly. _This could be common ground, _she thought as she reached for her drink. "Ah, that's nice. I have a twin sister, too. Or... I had one."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Phillipe said.

"It's okay," Chiz said, and took a sip of her drink. "I mean, I still miss her, but at least I helped avenge her."

At that, Phillipe almost dropped his beer. "Um... avenged?"

"Well, yeah," Chizuru went on to casually explain, as if such things were normal. "She was murdered by a man who was trying to destroy a seal placed over an ancient demon who... if they were ever released, would pretty much wipe out the human race, and my family protects one of the heirlooms that keeps it sealed. Years later, the same man tried to kill me and the other two keepers, but I helped destroy him. So we're all safe. But enough about me. What does your sister do?"

For several moments, the brown-haired man stared slack-jawed at Chizuru. Then he picked up his drink and rose from the stool. "Excuse me," he spoke rapidly. "I'm... meeting someone. It was nice talking to you." With that, he moved to another spot in the bar.

* * *

"That... lasted a bit longer than I thought it would," King said from the table where the rest of them were watching.

"She was your teammate," Yuri berated the bartender. "Have a little more faith in her."

"What?" King said defensively. "That was a compliment. She lasted longer than I thought, so maybe she _can _pull this off."

"Of course she can pull this off," said Mai. "She's a member of this team, and a beautiful badass with a capital B. You just can't beat the Women Fighters."

"Except... people have beaten us," Kasumi pointed out. "Many times."

"Will you relax, Kasumi?" Xiangfei asked. "She's doing fine. Maybe you need another sake..."

"Sounds like a good idea," Mai said, glancing around for a waiter. "_I'm _getting one, anyway."

* * *

"Can I help you, miss?" The man with the short black crew cut asked the attractive woman who seemed to be staring intently at his left hand, which was wrapped around a pilsner glass.

"Um... yes," Chizuru asked, her face tinted slightly red. "Can you... show me your left hand?"

"Oooo-kay," the man said slowly, and detached it from his glass, letting Chizuru see the hand, and that all its digits were bare.

Chiz relaxed at the sight. "Oh, good, you're not wearing a ring. So I don't have to abort."

"Um... abort what?"

"The plan, obviously. But enough about that. Is this seat taken?"

"Sorry, but I'm... waiting for someone."

"Very well." Chiz gave a respectful bow and started to home in on the next target. As she walked away, she heard the man muttering: "Why are the pretty ones always crazy?"

* * *

The next one seemed to be going a little better. Chiz had gone through the preamble without any difficulty, and as she was sitting down she noticed that her drink was almost empty. So the man she was speaking to offered to get her another. And though Chiz felt that _she _should be the one buying the rounds (since she had plenty of money), she still accepted his offer.

As he was opening his wallet, she noticed a picture inside of two children who appeared to be between the ages of seven and ten. "Are those your kids?"

"Yup," he said, a small smile appearing on his face.

For a moment, the priestess tried to figure out her next move, if she should try to look at his hand or not. But then she simply thought to ask: "So, are you..."

He laughed. "Nope, I'm divorced."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Chiz told him.

The man shook his head and changed the subject: "Do _you _have any kids?"

By then, the bartender had placed a fresh drink in front of her, and Chizuru laughed as she held it by the stem. "Well, that's a long story. I have two guys in my life... I'm not their mother, but I might as _well _be."

"Um... how old are they?"

"Oh, they're both adults. But you wouldn't know it, since they can act like children sometimes. Especially around each other. Which makes me feel like both their mother and a referee."

The man looked even more confused. "Are... they related?"

Chizuru shook her head. "No, they come from two families who hate each other. So it's just my luck that they're both keepers of a sacred treasure that helps keep supreme evil at bay, the same as I am. Which means that I have to see them quite a bit."

"Um... why?"

"Well, every time we find a place where the seal is growing weak, the three of us have to swoop in and fix the seal so that damn demon doesn't get out and turn the whole human race into Demon Chow. Of course, I have to put up with their bickering the whole time. And then I have to knock their heads together and stop them from setting each other on fire. And then one of them has the blood of the demon who wants to kill us all in his veins, so there's that." She sighed and sipped her drink. "But at the end of the day, it's hard to imagine life without them. So yeah... I guess they are my kids. But enough about me. What are _your _kids like?"

Chizuru turned her head and saw that the man's stool was now empty, and he was nowhere in sight. But at least he had left her some Euros for her drink.

* * *

"What just happened?" King asked the table in general, since she knew that Yuri, Mai, and Kasumi could all read lips.

"She mentioned Kyo, Iori, and the sacred treasures," Kasumi spoke first.

Yuri shook her head. "It's too bad, that one had potential, too."

"At least she's not letting adversity get to her," Xiangfei pointed out. "She's moving right on to the next one."

Mai leaned forward slightly, scrutinizing the next target King and Xiangfei had selected, a man in his twenties dressed in a more traditional style of Japanese clothing. "Wait a sec," she said mostly to herself.

"What is it?" King asked, noticing her friend's change of mood.

Mai squinted even harder at the man. "I recognize what he's wearing..." Suddenly, she jumped up from her chair and started to reach into her top for a fan. "Oh, no, we gotta get her out of there! Abort mission!"

The other girls were warily getting to their feet. "Why do we need to abort?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah, he looks harmless enough," said Yuri.

Mai, however, was already racing towards the bar, where Chizuru was engaging in conversation with the man. Mai only got halfway there when the priestess suddenly leapt up from her stool. Her body seemed to shimmer as she spun gracefully in place, lashing out with her arm in mid-spin and striking the man in the chest, sending him flying back into a nearby wall.

Seconds later, Chiz was surrounded by her friends. "What happened?" King asked.

"He just grabbed my butt!" Chizuru said indignantly, pointing at the man crumpled on the floor nearby.

Mai put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Sorry I was too late, Chiz," she said. "I tried to get over here when I saw what was happening."

Kasumi moved over to block the man's path, as he seemed to be trying to crawl away. "Mai... you know this man?"

The rest of the girls were standing over him now, and Mai's tone was regretful as she answered: "Sadly, I do." She then pointed her fan down at him. "Alright, Master, take off that mask!"

After a moment of hesitation, the man grabbed the front of his face and started to pull. It soon became clear that the "young man" was just a latex mask, and a few seconds later, it was yanked away to reveal the face of Jubei Yamada.

"Damn," the judo master muttered as he looked down at the tiled floor. "Do you _know _how much that disguise cost me?"

The expressions on the faces of the women showed that clearly none of them cared. "Wait," said Xiangfei. "I remember him: he's the lech from Round One who molested that newcomer."

"Well, guess now we know why he disappeared after that round," King said. "He's probably been molesting women in that disguise all week."

Jubei simply shrugged as he got to his feet. "Hey, it's a new city. I wanted to see everything it had to offer. And women are more apt to talk to you if they think you're young. So, if you don't mind..."

He tried to step around the group, but they remained impassive. "Not so fast," Chizuru told him. Moving so quickly she once again looked like she was shimmering, the priestess snatched away the mask and tucked it into her belt. "Word of advice, old man: it probably wasn't a smart idea to grope the hostess of this tournament. If I find out you molest anyone else while we're still here, I might just casually mention to Iori that you insulted his late mother."

Jubei's face became a bit more somber as he weighed those words. Then his expression lightened instantly. "It'll be worth it!" He shouted, and lunged at Mai, his hands reaching for the swell of her breasts. Mai struck him with her fan before he could connect, sending him to the floor once more. He was only down for a moment, then he sprang up and darted from the restaurant, moving much faster than a man his age should have been able to.

After he was gone, King placed a reassuring hand on her friend's arm. "Sorry about that, Chiz. That was our fault. Kasumi and I had no idea that was a disguise."

"I take most of the blame," Kasumi said. "My senses must be off for some reason."

Chizuru smiled at them both. "You're not responsible for his actions."

For a while, everyone was silent. Mai fanned herself indignantly as she glared at the exit Jubei had used. Finally, Yuri asked: "So... you wanna keep trying?"

Chizuru shook her head. "No thanks, Yuri. I think I'm done."

"I don't blame you," said Xiangfei. "Shall we sit back down?" The other ladies thought that was a great idea, and made their way back over to their table.

* * *

It took a few minutes for the excitement to die down, as they explained to the maitre'd the reason for the outburst, and Chizuru went back to the Ladies Room to "fix herself." The other Women Fighters were all nursing their drinks when the priestess rejoined the table, her white jacket buttoned up and her hair back in its familiar style, with her old band in place atop her head. Yuri and Mai noticed that she kept the eyeshadow on, however, and so they considered that a partial win.

"Well, that was an experience," Chizuru admitted as she sipped her drink.

"Sorry it turned out the way it did," King said.

"Don't be," Chiz assured them. "You girls were trying to help me learn new things, which is something we should all aspire to do everyday. And I was in the company of dear friends. So thank you!"

"It was our pleasure," said Mai.

"You... did very well on that one right before Yamada-san," Kasumi offered.

"Thank you, Kasumi," Chiz said with a laugh.

Yuri had her phone out now and was bringing up the camera app. "I wanna get another picture with you girls," she said, and started to flag down a waiter. After they'd found someone to get another snap of the six of them, Yuri sent it to everyone else present, and King then forwarded it to Mary's phone with the text _WISH YOU WERE HERE._

They spent another hour chatting about life, the universe, and everything, and as the conversation started to wind down, Chizuru looked around the other faces at the table, still feeling better than she had all week. It had been an interesting journey ever since King, Yuri and Mai had first banded together to compete in King of Fighters, and though the lineup had changed many times, one thing that only grew stronger between everyone present was the bonds of mutual respect, friendship, and love. It was now less a team, and more a sisterhood, and Chizuru Kagura was proud to be a part of it.

So she raised her glass to the table. "Well, girls, when all is said and done, I think there's only one more toast to give at a time like this. I'd say we all know what that is."

Yuri Sakazaki, King, Mai Shiranui, Kasumi Todoh and Li Xiangfei all exchanged a knowing glance with each other. Then, they smiled as they raised their own glasses towards the center of the table, and all six women spoke as one: "_To friends!"_

* * *

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

So, Kasumi and Xiangfei are both minors. But I've visited Italy twice in my life. The first time, I was seventeen, and when we ate at restaurants, I was able to have a glass of wine with dinner because no one ever carded me. So them being able to drink with their teammates is realistic (same reason Whip and Yuki drank in Chapter 4).

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next: the Epilogue.


	7. Epilogue

For those who have been following, thanks for reading! But now we come to the conclusion. At least for now. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

All characters are the property of SNK/Playmore. I don't own them or the video games.

* * *

_Epilogue: All's Well That Ends Well..._

It was past the hour when many people, both fighters and civilians, had sought out their beds at the end of a long Saturday. But despite the lateness, the hotel lobby was still a hotbed of activity, as those who were at last returning from their "errand" were reunited with friends and loved ones.

* * *

"_YU-KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" _The blond agent heard the shriek echoing through the lobby even before he saw his partner tearing frantically towards him. The Neo-Geo Pocket around Ai's neck was flailing erratically around her as she ran, and even struck her in the face at one point, but the bubbly brunette hardly noticed. She finally reached her man and did a flying leap towards him, but fortunately, Yuki was quick enough to catch her in his arms.

Ai immediately threw her own arms around his neck and hugged him close as she began to speak in a long, unbroken run-off sentence: "Oh-my-god-Yuki-it-was-so-awesome! We-found-their-secret-base-and-we-totally-blew-it-the-hell-up! There-were-zombie-clones-and-Botan-but-we-kicked-their-asses-and-we-met-this-guy-in-the-woods! He's a samurai, Yuki! An actual samurai! And-he-said-he'd-help-us-for-rice-and-fought-off-a-whole-army-of-zombie-clones-by-himself! There-must-have-been-about-a-thousand-of-them! He-was-so-awesome-with-that-sword, he-just-slashed-them-all-to-confetti! And-I-thought-he-was-dead-but-he wasn't!"

Yuki finally silenced her by planting a kiss on her lips. "Well, it sounds like you had fun, babe. I lost yesterday, but... I'm glad I stayed to compete."

Hearing those words seemed to sober Ai up a bit. She took a deep breath, and then spoke more slowly. "I"m sorry you lost, Yuki. But you know I still love you!"

"More than this samurai guy?" He asked with a smirk.

Ai grew a little red-faced at that. "Of course. It's just... not every day a girl gets to meet one of her heroes."

Yuki quirked up a blond eyebrow. "Wait... you mean this samurai was...?"

Ai nodded. "Yup. Haohmaru. He was just... in the forest outside their base. And he said he would help us, but he didn't want money. He wanted to be paid in rice!"

Yuki laughed at that. "Wow. That sounds like something out of a Kurosawa movie."

"I know, right? And... he's eating it in our hotel restaurant right now! Commander Heidern told the kitchen staff to cook Haoh as much rice as he wanted, and just charge it to the Ikaris!" Ai stepped out of her partner's arms, then grabbed him by the hand and started to drag him across the lobby. "C'mon! I want you to meet him!"

* * *

Over in another corner of the lobby, Leona Heidern stood rigid at attention before her adoptive father, who for once seemed too tired to adhere to military protocols. "At ease, Leona," he said with a wave of his hand, and the blue-haired woman relaxed her posture. "Ralf and Whip are over at the hospital right now," Heidern noted. "I'm surprised you're not there."

Leona didn't flinch. Though she stood at ease, her face was strictly business. "Well, sir, I thought you might want to debrief me on the day's events here."

Heidern actually smiled a little. "Is there anything I _need_ to debrief you on?"

Leona shook her head. "No sir. It's been quiet."

The smile grew slightly wider. "Then let's go see Clark."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

* * *

"You get into trouble here by yourself without me?" Mary Ryan asked her partner and friend.

"No, your better half stopped me from getting sloshed in the middle of the day," Vanessa answered with a laugh, then folded her arms across her breast and eyed Mary almost critically. "Did you beat down one of them for me?"

"More than one," the blond woman answered, and then the two of them hugged. The moment was interrupted a few moments later by a tap on Vanessa's shoulder.

"You got one of those for me, chica?" A familiar voice asked.

With some annoyance, Vanessa took a step back from Mary and turned to face Ramon. "I got _something _for you, but I don't think you want it."

Ramon took a step back, as well, placing both hands dramatically over his heart. "Aw... you're not happy to see me alive and well?"

"Of course I am," Vanessa retorted. "It means I don't have to help Seth interview replacements."

"You could never replace _me_, and you know it," Ramon said with a smirk. "Now... how 'bout letting me buy you a drink?"

"Oh, no!" Seth spoke up as he stepped in between them. "If anyone's buying, it's me!"

"You owe me that much for leaving me here, ya jerk!" Vanessa quipped, and punched Seth on the arm. The three of them then headed in the direction of the bar, and as they were making their way across the lobby, the redhead turned and looked over her shoulder at Mary, who didn't follow. "You coming?"

The detective shook her head. "I'd like to, but... I don't want to keep him waiting any longer. It's time to face the music." She was, of course, referring to the fact that she'd left to go off on this mission without telling Terry, which probably upset him, since he liked it when she at least told him when she had to run off with her fellow agents (not because he was worried, but just because he hated surprises).

"Oooh... trouble in paradise!" Ramon said playfully. He was punched on the arm seconds later by both Vanessa and Seth.

"Don't be so blue, Blue," Vanessa told her. "I'm sure once he sees you, he's gonna forget all about how upset he is. I _may _have softened him up for you. Without touching him, I mean!"

Mary couldn't help but laugh. "I know what you meant, Red! Well, you three have fun!" The blond woman gave them a curt nod, then turned and started walking towards the elevators, hands in the pockets of her jacket.

She stifled a yawn as she stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button. It had been a pretty long day, and her choosing not to join her companions had just as much to do with needing rest as it did with her wanting to get the inevitable confrontation over with. Which was why she was a little annoyed when she stepped off the elevator and reached what she thought was her room, only to find her keycard didn't work. Mary knocked at the door, and nearly did a double take when it opened to reveal Terry's brother wearing a bathrobe.

"Andy, what are you doing here?" She asked him.

Andy Bogard's brow furrowed in confusion. "Um... this is my room. Is... there something I can help you with?"

Mary's bright blue eyes flicked over to the number on the door, and then she started laughing. "Wait... this isn't Room 403. Shit, I got it backwards. I'm not even on the right floor, am I?"

Her laughter only made Andy more confused. "Are you sure you don't need help?"

The blond woman shook her head. "Nah, it's just been a long day for me. But I know where I'm going now. You enjoy your night." Mary then turned and started to walk back towards the elevators. Right before Andy shut the door, the detective heard a familiar voice call: "An-deeeeeee... come back to bed!"

A few minutes later, Mary was on the next floor up, and in front of the right door. She pulled her keycard out again, studied it for a moment, then slipped it back in her pocket and knocked at the door instead. A few minutes later, it opened to reveal her Lone Wolf lover.

Terry Bogard remained silent, his expression unreadable, even to Mary, who was an expert on reading people. She fidgeted nervously in place for a moment. "Hey, big guy," she said. "It's... good to see you."

Terry said nothing, simply folded his arms over his chest. "I'm... uh... gonna come in if that's okay," Mary went on to say. After a few tense moments, Terry stepped off to the side, and Mary hurried past him quickly. Terry shut the door, and turned to face her, still silent, his blue eyes unreadable.

"Look, I _know _I did a bad thing," Mary said to him as she took a cautious step forward. "It was all... just so sudden. I mean, one minute I'm having breakfast with the commander and several other familiar faces, and then suddenly plans are getting made, and Seth told me I was with him, and then we're at the airport and Heidern is arranging transportation to France... like I said, it was sudden. I... never got a chance to even tell you where we were going, they rushed us out so fast..."

Terry continued to stand there, and did not speak. Mary blew out a weary sigh. "Look, Terry, I'm sorry. I know I should have told you where I was going, since I know you hate surprises. But like I said, it all happened so fast. And we were ordered not to use our cell phones for personal communication. But that's no excuse. I should have at least taken a few minutes to try and look for you before I left."

Still no response. Mary sighed again. "Okay, Terry, if you wanna give me the silent treatment for a while, I'll understand. Just... know that I _am _sorry, and that next time I'll be sure..." Anything further she was about to say was cut off by Terry rapidly closing the remaining short distance between them and wrapping both arms around her, pulling her close to him. For a long time, Mary just stood there, confusion in her deep blue eyes as her man embraced her, his cheek resting against her scalp. Finally, she gave a small shrug and hugged him back.

"I wanted to be annoyed with you," Terry whispered into her hair. "But as soon as I set eyes on you, it all went away. I missed you..."

"I missed you too, babe," Mary said, a smile spreading across her lips. Terry cupped her chin in one hand, raising her head a little, and the two of them shared a tender kiss. "I hope you weren't too bored while I was gone."

"I found things to do," Terry told her. "Plus, Anton pretty much walks himself."

At hearing that name, Mary straightened herself up slightly and looked around the room. "Yeah, where's my baby? He hasn't come back yet?"

"Not yet," Terry said. "But you know he will. We'll probably hear him scratching within the hour."

Mary laughed and stripped off her jacket. "Yup. He always finds his way back home. We all do." As she was draping her jacket on the back of one of the chairs, Terry moved to the mini-fridge, and took out two bottles of Peroni. He twisted the tops off and offered one to Mary.

"Can we drink these in the tub?" Mary asked him as she accepted the beer. "I need a soak in some hot water. My neck is killing me right now."

Terry laughed as he stripped off his own jacket. "Of course we can. It sounds like you had fun. Hope you'll tell me all about it."

"I _could_..." Mary said with a smirk. "But you know the drill..."

"Of course. If I repeat it to anyone else, you'll have to kill me."

"But I promise it would be a fun way to die."

"Death by one of your submission holds would be the _best _way to go."

The couple laughed as they started off towards the bathroom, each with an arm around the others' waist, while their free hands held their drinks. It had been a long day for both of them, but now that they were each back where they belonged, it wasn't quite over yet.

_I may have just gotten a second wind, _Mary Ryan thought to herself as a mischievous smile crept across her face.

* * *

ADDITIONAL NOTES

So, I'm marking this as "Complete," but it's an open-ended "Complete." If I ever come up with another idea for this down the road, I'll just add another chapter and update accordingly. In the meantime, I hope you've all enjoyed reading. And remember, it wouldn't exist without JojoDO's "King of Fighters: Ultimate Grand Dream Kumite." I sincerely hope you've read that first before you started reading this. If, for some crazy reason, you haven't (because I told you more than once it wouldn't make sense if you didn't), then _please _read it. He poured a great deal of his heart and soul into it, and it's basically a love letter to the last three decades of SNK's fighting game history.

Well, that's all for now. Until next time, stay out of trouble! ( ;


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